January 1963Undoubtedly one of the greatest rock bands of the so-called "San Francisco Sound", the Sons Of Champlin emerged from a Marin County-based rhythm 'n' blues and soul band called the Opposite Six. The story begins at Tamalpais High School in Mill Valley where the band was putting together by Robert John 'Rob' Moitoza (b. Saturday, September 8, 1945, Mill Valley, Marin County, California) on vocals and bass, formerly of the Echoes of the South Pacific, the Viceroys, the Invaders, the Charlie's Gang, the Deacons, and the Chord Lords, William Bradford 'Bill' Champlin (b. Wednesday, May 21, 1947, Oakland, Alameda County, California) on vocals, piano, tenor sax, and organ Hammond B-3, formerly of the Invaders, the Royal Keys, the Deacons (only once as guest guitar player), and the Falcons (he was also in the high school's choir, orchestra, beginning band (where he played trumpet), advanced band (where he played sax), and marching band (where he played baritone sax)), Donald Jay 'Don' Irving (b. Monday, September 9, 1946, Pasadena, Los Angeles County, California) on vocals and lead guitar, formerly of the Showmen, guitar duo with Mark McDermand, and Tam Valley Players (a theatre company), Richard Ellsworth 'Dick' Rogers (b. Monday, April 15, 1946, San Francisco County, California) on vocals and drums, and last but not least John Gregory Leones (b. Friday, February 8, 1946, San Francisco County, California) on vocals, baritone and tenor sax, formerly of the high school orchestra (where he played the bassoon). "At the very start," recalls Don Irving, "Dick Rogers, who was then part of another Tam High group, asked me if I would like to try to help steal the best players from the other Tam High bands to make a 'super' band. I said yes, so we asked Bill Champlin and John Leones, and they also said 'yes'. We asked Rob Moitoza, but he had a steady gig with the Chord Lords. He said that he would join if we could get some gigs. He joined as soon as we booked [our first gig at] the Sausalito Women's Club dance." The five-piece lineup called themselves the Triodes ("I came up with the name," recalls Don Irving. "I named it after a vacuum tube with three elements (hence the name 'tri'ode) that is the amplifying electronic part of an amplifier circuit") and started rehearsing together originally at Dick Rogers' parents house in Sausalito ("we didn't sound too good at the start," recalls Rob Moitoza in an interview with Don Keown for the San Rafael's Daily Independent Journal dated February 27, 1965. "But we still thought we had possibilities."), and eventually at Rob Moitoza's parents house at 24 Cushing Drive in Mill Valley for a number of reasons, one being that several cars could park there. Rob also acted as the band's leader, spokesman, booking agent, and even manager, at least until they find a professional one sometime later. The band's repertoire consisted mostly of covers, ranging from jazz to rock, of the likes of James Brown, Wilson Pickett, Otis Redding, Booker T. and the M.G.'s, the Beatles, the Rolling Stones, and some "standards" like the Kingsmen's 'Louie Louie', the Isley Brothers' 'Twist and Shout', Julian 'Cannonball' Adderley's 'Jive Samba', and Sam Butera's 'Theme From The Rat Race'. However, about one-third of the songs they played were their own original arrangements or compositions. "This was the first time any of us had tried our hand at writing," recalls Rob Moitoza. "We were kind of almost like a Vegas-y kind of band," adds Bill Champlin in an interview with Debra Schwartz in 2015. "Brocade jackets and razor-cut hairdos, and steps and the whole nine yards, was what we were doing when we were in high school."

Late February/Early March 1963: Brown's Hall, 390 Miller Avenue, Mill Valley, Marin County, CaliforniaThe Triodes became a six-piece after they added Tim Cain (b. Tim Maack Cain, Wednesday, October 9, 1946, Oxnard, Ventura County, California) on vocals, tenor and alto sax, formerly the Countdowns and a polio poster boy for the March of Dimes in 1956 (he had contracted polio, afflicting the movement of both legs, when he was 7 years old, in March 1954, right before the Salk vaccine came out). "I remember that I have never met Tim because he went to [Sir Francis] Drake High School [in San Anselmo]," recalls Don Irving. "I first met him when he drove up in his car to Brown's Hall in Mill Valley to consider joining us. I think the event there was only a jam with us and maybe a couple others from other bands [including singer and guitarist Bruce Walford of the Casuals, who years later produced the first Sons Of Champlin double album as well as their last] and plus few people hanging around to listen. My memory about Tim, however, is vivid because he arrived on crutches holding onto both his sax case and right crutch together with his right hand. Dick said 'Here, let me carry that'. I did not know before that moment that he walked with crutches. I think he decided that night that he would join us." "I also remember that at the first rehearsal after Tim joined I was amazed and thrilled to hear two saxes playing at the same time!!," continues Don. "It was like, OMG, we are now a six piece r&b/soul band with a 'horn section'!! We could suddenly play James Brown (Apollo era) and all the other r&b soul songs and actually play the horn parts. I knew at that moment that we were suddenly the hottest band anywhere around the county." "Tim Cain, I mean, that tone on his saxophone is still as awesomely big and fat as it ever was," also recalls Bill Champlin in an interview with Debra Schwartz in 2015. "Great, great player. I mean, there’s plenty of guys that’ll play jazz circles around him. He’s not a jazz player, by any means, but he’s always melodic and he always says something, and he always takes you on a trip on his solos."

Early/Spring 1963: Mead Theater (outdoor amphitheater), Tamalpais High School (aka Tam High) campus, 700 Miller Avenue, Mill Valey, Marin County, California"We played for a couple of the football rallies in Mead Theater," recalls Rob Moitoza. "Our drummer, Dick Rogers, had a big whiskey bottle, that was used as a window advertisement in a store he used to work at, and he picked it up between songs and made believe he was drinking out of it," also recalls Bill Champlin. "The teachers and principle of Tam High weren't happy about it so that was the last Tam High rally we played as the Triodes."

Tamalpais High School 1963 yearbook

Friday, March 22, 1963: Ruby Scott Auditorium, Tamalpais High School (aka Tam High), 700 Miller Avenue, Mill Valey, Marin County, CaliforniaThe Triodes played at a noon-time dance held by Tam High to raised the necessary funds (from the 10-cent admission) for the high school chest program sponsored by the American High School Red Cross. Inaugurated in 1947, the program was aimed at giving high school students an opportunity to help schools in disaster areas throughout the world function normally again by making chests and filling them with school, recreational, and health supplies. The Tam High chest was then sent to Bali, Indonesia, for use by a school in the recently devastated area from the eruption of Mount Agung, an active vulcano.

Marin News (May 22, 1963)

Daily independent Journal (Friday, March 22, 1963)

Friday, May 17, 1963: 'Dance and Show', Corte Madera Recreation Center, 498 Tamalpais Drive, Corte Madera, Marin County, CaliforniaAlso on the bill: Barbara Moyer, Ron Molina. The show, which lasted from 8:00pm to 12 midnight, was sponsored by E.S.M. (Edward S. Margoliash) Enterprises. The Triodes also backed up both Barbara Moyer and Ron Molina that night. "One of the most exciting moments for us came during one of our local gigs at Corte Madera Recreation Center," recalls Rob Moitoza. "The venue only held about 300 people, but that was a lot for a local place in those days. It had been rented and booked by a local young man named Ed Margoliash. Ed started booking some national acts to play there and, since many of them were touring without backup bands, Ed hired our band to back them. Now, how he made al those contacts in that day and age, I have no idea of it." "The promoter made it his business to see what was going on around town and we were pretty much the best musicians in town," also recalls Bill Champlin in an interview with Jason Lewis in 2007. "Wait - that’s the WAY wrong thing to say! We were anything but the best musicians in town!!! (We were good) for pop music and what was going on… (Plus) we had horns and they figured they could probably get us for cheap."

Saturday, June 15, 1963: 'Dance and Show', Corte Madera Recreation Center, 498 Tamalpais Drive, Corte Madera, Marin County, CaliforniaThe Triodes also backed up the headliner Jan and Dean. The show, which lasted from 8:00pm to 12 midnight, was sponsored by E.S.M. (Edward S. Margoliash) Enterprises. "It is ironic our first big-time gig was backing up Jan and Dean, about the farthest from soul one could get," laughed Don Irving. "But other than the irony of it, there was nothing negative about it, it was an huge honor for us to be on stage with them and to play their songs."

Mill Valley Record (June 19, 1963)

Friday, August 30, 1963: 'Dance and Show', Corte Madera Recreation Center, 498 Tamalpais Drive, Corte Madera, Marin County, CaliforniaThe Triodes (unbilled) also backed up the headliner the Righteous Brothers. The show, which lasted from 8:00pm to 12 midnight, was sponsored by E.S.M. (Edward S. Margoliash) Enterprises. "The most exciting Recreation Center gigs, for us, was when Ed booked one of our favorite acts, the Righteous Brothers, famous for their classic 'You’ve Lost That Lovin' Feelin'," recalls Rob Moitoza. "We studied every song on their two albums and learned them all note for note. Years later Champlin ran into Bill Medley and he actually remembered that gig! He said when they first laid eyes on us young high school kids they were worried, but once they started rehearsing with us they were really impressed! We played great that night, so much so that Bill Medley actually remembered the gig. Amazing!" "About 10 years ago [my band] Chicago was playing at Caesars [Palace Hotel in Las Vegas] and one night the trumpet player from Chicago and I went over to see the Righteous Brothers show and we went backstage afterwards," confirms Bill Champlin in an interview with Jason Lewis in 2007. "As I was introduced to Bill Medley I said, 'We backed you up when I was in high school' and he says, 'Bill, shut up. I know you and I’ve been following you ever since. You don’t have to remind me, I remember that. It was a great gig. You guys were cool for a bunch of kids. I made sure to keep an eye on you ever since."​

Daily Independent Journal (August 28, 1963)

Early September 1963The Triodes changed their name to Them. "I do remember that sometime later we tried out the name 'Them' for a while, way before the British band with that name," confirms Don Irving.

September 1963: unknown venue, unknown city, Marin County, CaliforniaApparently the band did only one local gig under the name Them, although no one seems to remember exactly where and when.

Late September 1963Them changed their name to the Opposite Six. "I also remember that it was very soon afterward that we all realized that 'Them' was a stupid name," confirms Don Irving. "So we started brainstorming new names. We wanted something with 'Six' in it to gloat about the fact that none of the other local bands had 6 members. I think it was Tim who said 'How about the Opposite Six'. We laughed it off at first, but then started thinking about it seriously." "I don't remember who made up the name Opposite Six," adds Tim Cain. "We made all of our decisions as a group so we all had a part in everything, including a name change." "I don't really know the answer to who came up with the name Opposite Six," recalls Rob Moitoza. "Could have been Tim or me. Sounds like something Tim would come up with though. We had similar senses of humor."

business card

business card

business paper

Friday, September 27, 1963: 'Dance and Show', McNears Beach Barn, McNears Beach County Park, 201 Cantera Way, San Rafael, Marin County, CaliforniaThe Opposite Six's debut gig. "Our first gig as the Opposite Six was (I am certain) the dance at McNears Beach in San Rafael," confirms Don Irving. "I am certain because I remember the poster we made that said 'The Opposite 6 - formerly Them'." The band also backed up the headliners, Barbara Moyer, and Ralph Pepe. The show, which lasted from 8:00pm to 12 midnight, was sponsored by R.D.P. and Associates.

Saturday, October 19, 1963: 'Soulville '63 - Freedom Dance', Ruby Scott Auditorium, Tamalpais High School (aka Tam High), 700 Miller Avenue, Mill Valey, Marin County, CaliforniaAlso on the bill: The George Duke Trio, The Jesters, James Bullock, Chris Clark, Phillip Scott, Little Henry, Ronny Striplin and Mack Henry Page 3rd, Claudette Hamilton, The Del-Tones, and others. The show, which started at 8:00pm, was presented by Tamalpais High School. "Rob Moitoza - and you gotta hand it to him, he did something really cool," recalls Bill Champlin in an interview with Debra Schwartz in 2015. "He got a concert together with George Duke, the Opposite Six, and other little bands that were in the neighborhood, black groups, singing groups that we were backing up, and it was just his attempt - and we had it in Ruby Scott at Tam High, which threw the concert. The place was packed, and it was kinda that thing of like, 'Hey, look, we're all together,' and he called it Soulville '63." "In 1963 there was a [racial] dispute between the white and black kids at Tam High," also recalls Rob Moitoza. "[So] our drummer, Dick Rogers, suggested we put together a multi-racial concert at Tam High to try to heal the wounds. The first person we contacted was George Duke and he readily agreed to be a part of it. In those days 'da funk' hadn’t even begun yet, but Duke had a great little jazz trio. So, Duke headlined the show. Our band the Opposite Six was also on the bill, and we decided to back up some of Tam High’s black kids, along with our usual gang of vocalists. James Bullock was popular among the kids, so we invited him to sing along with a few other students. We decided to have a rehearsal at my parents’ house to run through the tunes. I remember how nervous my dad was when all these black kids showed up at his house… especially when a few of them went into the back yard. I think he thought they were going to steal something! In reality I think they went back there to smoke a joint… something I didn’t even know about back then. I can only imagine what was going through the black kids heads when they saw the white folks’ big house on the hill. Coming from housing projects in Marin City I can understand why they’d be pissed off. In any case, we had a good rehearsal, and everyone got along just fine. I think James sang 'Duke of Earl' along with some other current hits. Another kid did his 'Little Egypt' routine complete with female costuming! Dave Schallock’s band, the Jesters, played on the bill as well. Dave later playwed bass with the Sons of Champlin. The dance came off well and there was no trouble at the event. Nowadays kids of all races mingle together without it being an issue. I hope we had some role in getting that started."

Daily Independent Journal (October 18, 1963)

Saturday, November 16, 1963: 'Dance and Show', Corte Madera Recreation Center, 498 Tamalpais Drive, Corte Madera, Marin County, CaliforniaThe 'Fabulous' Opposite Six, as they were billed on the poster, also backed up the headliners Barbara Jean Moyer, and the Jewels. The show, which lasted from 8:00pm to 12 midnight, was sponsored by E.S.M. (Edward S. Margoliash) Enterprises.

Saturday, December 14, 1963: Santa Venetia National Guard Armory, 153 Madison Avenue, Santa Venetia, Marin County, CaliforniaThe Opposite Six also backed up the headliner the Coasters. The show, which lasted from 8:00pm to 12 midnight, was sponsored by E.S.M. (Edward S. Margoliash) Enterprises. "I remember the day we backed those guys," recalls Bill Champlin in an interview with Debra Schwartz in 2015. "What ended up happening was weird 'cause it was right at around 1963, and for some reason there were - I mean, Marin County was pretty much primarily a white neighborhood. Mill Valley and Tam High School had Marin City - so we had blacks in our school, and there was some throwing fists, and there was some, what they called race riots, but they were pretty small time race riots going on at Tamalpais High School at that time in 1963." "But at the time when we played with the Coasters," continues Bill, "some local - I mean, there were whites and blacks at it, 'cause the Coasters were a black group. And we were backing them up, and there was some black guys that came over from Richmond or from Berkeley or somewhere in Oakland, and they were really, really much more, way more street wise than Marin City guys. You know what I mean? 'Cause even if Marin City guys are supposed to be the urban situation, come on, it wasn't East 14th by any means. You known what I mean? So there was some stabbing and some stuff going on at that gig. It was the first time I'd ever seen anything like that. And I'd just bought a new Hammond organ, and we were just - me and the manager of the Coasters were taking it off the stage. We've seen people getting carried out. It was pretty much of a scene. I don't think it made the news that much but it was pretty crazy to do that." "I remember seeing a table way back in the rear of the hall go flying up in the air," also recalls Rob Moitoza. "The Coasters started singing the Gillette fight song, which was often used for T.V. boxing matches: 'To look sharp, and to be sharp too. Choose a razor that is best for you…' One of them used a mike to simulate shaving his beard. I got the feeling they had been through all this before!"

Daily Independent Journal (December 6, 1963)

Daily Independent Journal (December 16, 1963)

Daily Independent Journal (December 17, 1963)

1963: Rio Nido Ballroom, Rio Nido, Russian River, Sonoma County, California"Some of the gigs I liked best were at Rio Nido Ballroom on the Russian River near Gureneville," recalls Rob Moitoza. "We played there a few times. It must have been 62 or 63 [the latter], because we used James Brown Live at the Apollo 1962 [but released in May 1963] as our warm up for the gigs. There was also an outdoor stage on a second floor where we’d do a short set before our main dance. The ballroom has long since been torn down. The river used to flood the place almost every year."

1963 or 1964: 'Dance and Show', Corte Madera Recreation Center, 498 Tamalpais Drive, Corte Madera, Marin County, CaliforniaThe Opposite Six also backed up the headliner the Righteous Brothers. The show, which lasted from 8:00pm to 12 midnight, was sponsored by E.S.M. (Edward S. Margoliash) Enterprises. "The most exciting Recreation Center gigs, for us, was when Ed booked one of our favorite acts, the Righteous Brothers, famous for their classic 'You’ve Lost That Lovin' Feelin'," recalls Rob Moitoza. "We studied every song on their two albums and learned them all note for note. Years later Champlin ran into Bill Medley and he actually remembered that gig! He said when they first laid eyes on us young high school kids they were worried, but once they started rehearsing with us they were really impressed! We played great that night, so much so that Bill Medley actually remembered the gig. Amazing!" "About 10 years ago [my band] Chicago was playing at Caesars [Palace Hotel in Las Vegas] and one night the trumpet player from Chicago and I went over to see the Righteous Brothers show and we went backstage afterwards," confirms Bill Champlin in an interview with Jason Lewis in 2007. "As I was introduced to Bill Medley I said, 'We backed you up when I was in high school' and he says, 'Bill, shut up. I know you and I’ve been following you ever since. You don’t have to remind me, I remember that. It was a great gig. You guys were cool for a bunch of kids. I made sure to keep an eye on you ever since."

1963 or 1964: 'Dance and Show', Corte Madera Recreation Center, 498 Tamalpais Drive, Corte Madera, Marin County, CaliforniaThe Opposite Six also backed up the headliner the Dovells. The show, which lasted from 8:00pm to 12 midnight, was sponsored by E.S.M. (Edward S. Margoliash) Enterprises. "I remember being very impressed by the Dovells," recalls Rob Moitoza. "During the show, while their lead singer talked to the audience, one of the other singers was talking to the band making sure we knew the tempo, the right key, etc. They had the whole thing down to a science! That was one of our first experiences working with real pros, and we never forgot it."

1963 or 1964"In our quest to find gigs, we started looking for an agency to help us book the band," recalls Rob Moitoza. "We were told about an agency in San Francisco called the Haymond Booking Agency. The agency was run by two sisters, the Haymond sisters, and they were both out of an old Bette Davis movie! Even their office was out of the thirties! It was a gorgeous old building, but we felt like we were going back to another era. They liked the band but thought we should throw in a few standards by Vic Damone! We played along, but… seriously? We started calling them the 'Sirens' (John Leones laughed the most about the name), because the poor women were still trying to look young and glamorous, but it just wasn’t working. Sad really!" Anyway, sometime later, the band find a new and more professional personal manager, a guy from Los Angeles named Ross Christena.

1963 or 1964: Pacific High Recording Co., Gate 6, Sausalito, Marin County, California The Opposite Six headed into Pacific High, a very small recording studio recently opened by music engineer Peter Weston. "We recorded several songs there," recalls Rob Moitoza. "I remember being impressed by a 15” speaker that the owner had imbedded in the wall in a big plaster horn about four feet wide and four feet deep! I don’t think it sounded all that great, but it sure looked impressive! Some of the songs we recorded at that session were Cole Porter's 'Love For Sale', Ferrante and Teicher's 'Theme from Exodus', and Sam Butera and the Witnesses' 'Theme from The Rat Race'. Those were unusual choices for a rock and roll band, but we always were quite eclectic, playing everything from rock to jazz to old standards. In any case, that tape is long gone… who knows where?" "I kinda' remember the session and the studio but not the songs we cut," also recalls Bill Champlin. "I remember loving 'Rat Race' 'cause the bass line was so cool. I can play you the bass line. So I'd bet that we covered it."1963 or 1964: Coast Recorders Inc., 960 Bush Street, Nob Hill, San Francisco, California"We were were probably best known for our 'White Levi’s' commercial which we were hired to play and sing on," recalls Rob Moitoza. "That advertisement got all kinds of airplay! I think Bill can still sing it note for note! I could probably come close. But, it wasn’t exactly what we wanted to become known for! Then again, I have often wondered if Ray Charles made more money off his 'Diet Pepsi' commercials than he did off 'Georgia' (I’ll have to look that up some time! It certainly wouldn’t surprise me!)" "It made the radio and we were all knocked out that we were on the radio," also recalls Bill Champlin. "I think we got $50 per guy for that and I sang it. It wasn't until years later that I realized that the producers of the jingle got all the residuals for that thing. Probably put themselves down as singers. Hey, I was happy with the $50 but I'll bet 1000's were made by the Coast guys. Oh well, you live and, hopefully, learn." "I remember recording the White Levis jingle, and was thrilled to hear it played on our two local rock radio stations, KFRC and KYA," adds Tim Cain.

Friday, January 24, 1964: Villa Chanticleer, 900 Chanticleer Way, Healdsburg, Sonoma County, CaliforniaFrom 10:00pm to 1:00am, the Opposite Six played at a March of Dimes benefit dance sponsored by the Healdsburg Teen Center.

Saturday, April 18, 1964: 'Junior Prom', cafeteria, Marin Catholic High School, 675 Sir Francis Drake Boulevard, Kentfield, Marin County, California One show, from 8:30pm to 12 midnight. "There are a couple of Opposite Six gigs which are forever etched in my memory. One was playing at Marin Catholic High School," recalls Rob Moitoza. "There was no stage there and so people were dancing all around us. I remember feeling this tug on my bass neck. I looked around and this girl’s long blonde hair was all wrapped up in the peg heads of my bass! She had evidently been dancing too close to the band and didn’t even notice until I was inadvertently pulling her hair with my bass neck! I wasn’t sure whether to keep playing or stop and unwrap her hair… which is, of course, what I finally did! But, that was an experience I never forgot!"​

Daily Independent Journal (April 18, 1964)

April or May or June 1964: 'Junior Prom', Ruby Scott Auditorium, Tamalpais High School (aka Tam High), 700 Miller Avenue, Mill Valey (questionable)"I think I even played my own senior ball, or it was my junior prom. Hard to remember," recalls Bill Champlin

May or June 1964: 'Senior Ball', Gymnasium, Sir Francis Drake High School, 1327 Sir Francis Drake Boulevard, San Anselmo, Marin County, California "A funny moment came when we put in a bid to play at Sir Francis Drake High School for Tim Cain's Senior Prom," laughed Rob Moitoza. "At first they weren’t going to hire us, because the school wanted to hire a big band to play standard big band hits. Since we were all playing in high school big bands ourselves, we said 'We can do that!' Somehow we managed to convince them that we could play 'In the Mood' and 'Little Darlin’ as well as anybody else, and we could! We rented a bunch of folding music stands, some tuxedos, and bought a few big band arrangement books. When the gig came, we played a couple of sets as a standard big band. Then, for the last set or two we changed into our 'Towncraft Clothiers' coats and came out as the Opposite Six. But the highlight of the show was when we played the current David Rose hit 'The Stripper'. We had challenged our baritone sax player, John Leones, to strip and he took us up on it, all the way down to his fancy blue shorts! (We used to call him the Italian Stallion, that's why he was recruited to do the strip routine). Well, the kids loved it, but that was probably the last time the high school ever hired us to play at one of their events again! Crazy kids! Now, in 2020, they are “twerking”. Is this progress or what?" "We did the first set as a traditional big band sitting in front of music stands like an orchestra doing big-band traditional songs and wearing blue sparkle dress jackets," confirms Don Irving. "I think we may have had some guys playing horns, but I don’t remember. Then we came back in full force for the second set with or most rockin' songs as the Opposite Six."

1964The Opposite Six's debut single, 'She Loves You / Dawn (Go Away)' (TT 19642-1), was released only in the US. The A-side was a cover of the Beatles, while the flipside was a cover of the Four Seasons. The single, which was recorded at Coast Recorders in San Francisco and was then released by a Hollywood small indie label called Top Ten Records, "was what they call a cutout for Woolworth stores," recalls Bill Champlin. "Oh, that terrible thing," laughed Don Irving. "We went into the studio as a paid gig for that promotion record, and they said please do those two songs. The 'She Loves You' harmony was in tune, but the music was empty. 'Dawn' was way beyond our harmony skills at that early stage, and is embarrassing. It was not actually a 'debut' because it did not have our name on it - just a studio gig." "I felt like it was kind of a sham at the time, because a lot of kids probably thought they were getting the Beatles," also recalls Rob Moitoza. "I don’t think our name was on it. We did a pretty convincing job on it, but I didn’t like the whole idea of it. Just some guy’s idea of how to make money. There are no saxes on either of those songs. They just wanted it to sound like the Beatles and the Four Seasons." "As I remember I sang lead on [both songs]," points out Tim Cain.

September 1964 (?)John Leones dropped out of the band for a full-time job to help finance his college education (he eventually played bassoon in the San Francisco Symphony Orchestra) and was replaced by an IBM employee, the late Ronalde Earl 'Ron' Arnsmeyer (b. Tuesday, April 1, 1941, Riverside County, California) on vocals, alto and tenor sax, formerly of the Chord Lords (with Moitoza) and the Royal Keys (with Champlin).

Friday, October 23, 1964: Villa Chanticleer, 900 Chanticleer Way, Healdsburg, Sonoma County, CaliforniaFrom 10:00pm to 12:30am, the Opposite Six played at a dance sponsored by the Healdsburg Teen Center.​

Fall 1964: Stern Grove Park, 832 Folsom Street, San Francisco, CaliforniaTim Cain was at home with mononucleosis (too tired to make the gig), so Bill Champlin also played tenor sax in addition to his organ, while Ron Arnsmeyer also played organ (replacing Bill when the latter handled lead vocals duties) in addition to his alto sax. "I remember an embarassing moment at Stern Grove when I was chosen to pin a corsage on the Beauty Pageant winner and got all embarassed because I didn't know how to pin a corsage!," laughed Rob Moitoza. "She went 'Ow!' and pretended I stuck her with the pin just to embarrass me even more!"

Friday, January 22, 1965: Community Recreation Center, American Legion Hall, 37 Union Street, San Rafael, Marin County, CaliforniaFrom 8:30pm to 12 midnight, the Opposite Six played at a benefit dance for the Teen-Age Program of the March of Dimes. 'The Real' Don Steele, disc jokey on radio station KEWB, was the master of ceremonies.

Daily Independent Journal (January 20, 1965)

Daily Independent Journal (February 5, 1965)

Monday, February 8, 1965The Opposite Six's second and last single, 'All Night Long / Come Straight Home' (Dot Records 45-16700), was released in the US (and later that same year also in Greece (Dot 45-60019)). The single was recorded at Sierra Sound Laboratories, aka Sierra Sound Studios, a recording studio owned by engineer Bob DeSousa and located at 1741 Alcatraz Avenue in Berkeley, Alameda County, California. "We had heard a record which was recorded there and we loved the sound. It may have been 'Mo-Self' by “Eugene Blacknell and his Savonics, an Oakland guitarist that we admired," recalls Rob Moitoza. "One of the songs we chose to record was an instrumental written by our sax player, Ron Arnsmeyer, called 'Yo' Mamo'. We loved Ron’s alto playing, going all the way back to when we first heard him play Duke Ellington's 'Harlem Nocturne' in front of excited audiences at the VFW Hall in Santa Venetia. We thought it was a great little song and with Don’s 'Steve Cropper-ish' guitar solo it turned out to be a very cool recording. Bill later re-recorded the song with Sons of Champlin. We also recorded one of my songs, 'All Night Long', and one of Bill’s songs, 'Come Straight Home'. Somehow those songs landed us a deal on Dot Records. I don’t remember how we got that deal, but they pressed a single with the two vocal songs on it. The record got some airplay on a couple of [college] radio stations [in February and March of '65], but it never quite made the top forty. Recently I found a couple of copies of that record on Discogs listing for over $75 each! Wonders never cease!" ​

Saturday, April 3, 1965: 'In Concert!', Gate Theatre, 668 Bridgeway Avenue, Sausalito, Marin County, CaliforniaAlso on the bill: Bill Bostic and His 8 Piece Rhythm and Blues Band. One show, started at 8:00pm. "One of the last gigs I remember doing with the Opposite Six was at a movie theater in Sausalito called the Gate Theatre," recalls Rob Moitoza. "The room had a great little stage and the acoustics sounded really good inside. We were getting tired of playing for dances, and we thought it would be great fun to do a real concert. Some of us in the band had been exploring some of the East Bay clubs. There used to be a club in Albany, just north of Berkeley, called the Lucky 13. I believe that’s where we first heard a young singer named Bill Bostic. We were knocked out by his voice! His uncle was Earl Bostic, and Bill later told me that Earl and Nat Cole were the first black artists on Capitol Records! We decided to back Bill up on some songs as well as doing our usual material. We rented the Gate, had posters printed, and rehearsed the heck out of the show. We were excited and all set to go. But when the day came, no one showed up! I don’t know exactly why. Was it because it was an unfamiliar venue? Was it because Bill Bostic was relatively unknown? Was it because it was a 'mixed race' event? Why didn’t any of our usual fans come? I will never know the answer, but they probably missed the best show the Opposite Six ever performed."

The Opposite Six #2 during one of their skits, Gate Theatre, Sausalito, April 3, 1965 - from left: Don Irving, Bill Champlin, Ron Arnsmeyer, and Rob Moitoza

Friday, April 9 - Sunday, April 18, 1965: 'Bay Area Teen-Age Fair', San Mateo County Fairgrounds, 2495 South Delaware Street, San Mateo, CaliforniaOne show each day, from 6:00pm to 12 midnight only on April 9, and from 12 noon to 12 midnight from April 10 to 18. Also on the bill: The Beau Brummels (9), The Notables, The Vegetables, The Bundles, Gene and the Ethics. "That was a high profile event which featured many of the top Bay Area bands at the time," recalls Rob Moitoza. "I remember it most, because the Vox 'Beatle amps' had just come out in the U.S.A. and they were set up on all the stages. We were excited to try them. But when we played through them, they kept blowing out! Soon all of the bands were trading them out for the old standby… Fender Showman! Still, it was a great event for us."

The Opposite Six #2, San Mateo "Teen-Age Fair", April 1965 - from left (outside the car): Bill Champlin, Don Irving, and Ron Arnsmeyer, from left (inside the car): Rob Moitoza, Tim Can, and Dick Rogers

May or June 1965: 'Senior Ball', Ruby Scott Auditorium, Tamalpais High School (aka Tam High), 700 Miller Avenue, Mill Valey, Marin County, California (questionable)"I think I even played my own senior ball, or it was my junior prom. Hard to remember," recalls Bill Champlin. "I don't remember playing at Tam's Senior Prom, maybe we did or did not," points out Tim Cain.

​Sunday, July 4 - Monday, July 5, 1965: '1965 Napa County Fair', Tubbs Building, Napa County Fairgrounds, 1435 North Oak Street, Calistoga, Napa County, CaliforniaThe Opposite Six, along with Bentley's Poodles, and Marimba Echoes, performed a 'Variety Show' two times a day, from 2:30pm to 4:00pm (on July 4 and 5), and then from 9:00pm to 9:30pm (on July 4) and from 6:30pm to 8:00pm (on July 5).

August 1965 (?)Don Irving left the band and went to play with Beau Brummels in San Francisco. "Don bailed from the Opposite Six because he got a gig playing with Beau Brummels when they had a hit," confirms Bill Champlin in an interview with Debra Schwartz in 2015. The band replaced him on lead guitar with Tim Cain's neighbour friend Terry David Haggerty (b. Saturday, November 9, 1946, San Francisco County, California), formerly of the Starlighters, and the Countdowns. Terry and Tim had played together in the Countdowns through their four years at the Sir Francis Drake High School in San Anselmo, and later they also sang in the school choir when they both attended the College of Marin. "I wasn’t in the initial Opposite Six. I didn’t join that until the very end, and then just only played a handful of gigs," recalls Terry in an interview with Debra Schwartz in 2019. "Don Irving got hired by the Beau Brummels and then they wanted to keep the band together. I was a great guitar player, but I was not doing steps or any of that. Opposite Six was amazing, they had all the steps. They had dance routines. They had all the stuff. We all wanted to go to Las Vegas."​

Friday, September 17, 1965: 'Dance', Mill Valley Community and Youth Center, 180 Camino Alto, Mill Valley, Marin County, California The show, which started at 8:00pm, was presented by the Mill Valley Youth Council. The Opposite Six's last gig.

Daily Independent Journal (September 16, 1965)

​Saturday, September 18, 1965 The Opposite Six disbanded after Dick Rogers, Rob Moitoza, Tim Cain, and Bill Champlin all received their draft notices and had no option to quit. "What happened is that we were really diggin' playing with the Opposite Six," recalls Bill Champlin in an interview with Debra Schwartz in 2015. "But at the same time this was going on, the Vietnam War was happening and the draft was going on. So everybody was worried about 'What's gonna happen with the draft? How are we gonna deal with this?' So I think what happened is that the Draft Board went after Marin County with a vengeance. So we had guys in the band, and what the move was at that time is if you were drafted, you had a two-year, what they call a 'bid.' You know a bid is usually a jail sentence, but let’s just call it a two-year bid. But if you were drafted, you were gonna be a grunt, you were gonna be on the front line. That’s how it went. If you joined, it was a three year, but you had a better shot at getting in the band, or in the microwave technology section. Even Tim Cain went to his draft physical and they passed him right up until the last guy. The last guy says, 'Let me see your medical records.' And out of a shoulder bag he drops medical records with Jonas Salk’s name on the front. And he said, 'What are you doing here?' He says, 'I just wanted to see how - ' He says, 'You almost got drafted, man, get outta here.' And it was just a joke, but the joke almost turned on him." "Well I was cool because by the time I registered for the draft I was already married and my son was already born," continues Bill. "The drafted guys married, but they didn't draft anybody with kids. I think my draft number was 3A (that wasn't my loterry number, it was just 3A meant that you couldn't be drafted), so I managed to get out of it." "So what happened is that our drummer, Dick Rogers, I think he got in the Army band, and I think Rob might have gone into the Navy," concludes Bill. "So all these guys that were in the Sons, basically - not the Sons, but in the Opposite Six, basically joined rather than getting drafted. ’Cause if you were drafted it was two years front line. You’re gonna be in a foxhole rather than in an office. So those guys opted for three years, so the band pretty much broke up." "The Opposite Six came to an end when the Viet Nam war threatened us all with the draft," also recalls Rob Moitoza. "Dick Rogers and I knew our number was coming up, so Dick joined the army [after he got out Dick will play with Cold Blood, and Pure Love & Pleasure]. I heard about a two year active duty, four year reserve program being offered by the Navy, so I opted for that [after he got out Rob will play with Cold Blood, Pure Love & Pleasure, the Sons Of Champlin, and many others]." "Were you aware that there was a Sacramento 'Opposite Six' later on?," adds Moitoza. "I think when we broke up the Sacramento guy asked me if they could use the name and I said sure. I was so depressed at that point I really couldn't care less! Ha, ha! I was about to leave for the Navy." At that point, the undrafted Ron Arnsmeyer retired from the music business and soon left for the East Coast to pursue a job in the computer field somewhere in Ohio, while the other undrafted Champlin, Cain, and Haggerty, started a new rock band with Jim Myers (b. 1946) on drums, formerly of the Trolls, and the Jim Myers Quartet, and John Reed Prosser (b. 1945 or 1946) on bass. Originally called the Masterbeats (Bill came up with the name), they "started rehearsing at my house in San Anselmo," recalls Terry Haggerty in an interview with Debra Schwartz in 2019. "We had two or three rehearsals there. And we met these guys, John Prosser and Jim Myers, bass and drums. And that was actually really an excellent band." Eventually, the band moved their rehearsals from Haggerty's house to the basement of John Prosser's parents house at 469 Chapman Drive, in Corte Madera, Marin County. Initially, the band's repertoire consisted of rhythm 'n' blues covers such as Wilson Pickett's 'Mustang Sally' and 'In The Midnight Hour', the Beatles' 'I'll Cry Instead', and some blues instrumentals such as the Opposite Six's 'Yo' Mamo'. By the way, Tim Cain's older brother Bob originally acted as their manager, at least until he volunteered for Viet Nam in early '66.

​September or October 1965: Gymnasium, College Of Marin, 835 College Avenue, Kentfield, Marin County, CaliforniaThe Masterbeats' first and only gig. Bill Champlin, Terry Haggerty, Tim Cain, and Jim Myers were enrolled at the College of Marin at that time.

October 1965The Masterbeats changed their name to the Sons of Father Champlin. "Nobody would hire us with that [name]," recalls Bill Champlin in an interview with Debra Schwartz in 2015, "and at the time I was already married and had a kid, so the guys were just jokingly calling me Father Champlin for a couple of weeks there, and that's when we named the band."

October or November 1965: Gymnasium, College Of Marin, 835 College Avenue, Kentfield, Marin County, CaliforniaThe Sons of Father Champlin's first and only gig.

November 1965The Sons of Father Champlin shortened their name to the Sons of Champlin. "So it ended up being the Sons of Champlin," confirms Bill Champlin in an interview with Debra Schwartz in 2015. "That’s as close as I can get to how that all came down. The stupidest band name in the history of Rock and Roll. Memorable, it's memorable."December 17, 1965: 'Nancy Kuechler's private ball', Colonial Ballroom, The Westin St. Francis Hotel, 335 Powell Street, Union Square, San Francisco, CaliforniaAlso on the bill: Walt Tolleson's Orchestra.​April 1966: 'The Bat Ball', Redwood High School, 395 Doherty Drive, Larkspur, Marin County, California

May 1966: Terra Linda High School, 320 Nora Albion Way, San Rafael, Marin County, CaliforniaFriday, May 20, 1966: 'Show & Dance', Fairfax Pavilion, 142 Bolinas Road, Fairfax, Marin County, CaliforniaAlso on the bill: The Styx. The show, which lasted from 8:00pm to 12 midnight, was presented by Golden Star Promotions.

June 1966John Prosser was forced to leave the band after he enlisted in the U.S. Navy's 'Join Now, Go Later' program for a period of four years. He was replaced by Tim and Terry's school mate at the College Of Marin, Allen Percy 'Al' Strong, aka 'Fuzzy' (b. Thursday, June 14, 1945, Marin County, California), formerly of the Starlighters. Al and Tim were also former school mates at the Sir Francis Drake High School in San Anselmo in the early 1960s, where they were both members of their music department's dance band (Al on double bass and Tim on sax). ​

Thursday, June 23, 1966: 'Dance-Concert', Fillmore Auditorium, 1805 Geary Boulevard at Fillmore Street, Fillmore District, San Francisco, CaliforniaAlso on the bill: Them, The New Tweedy Brothers, Oxford Circle, Frumious Bandersnatch. The show, which started at 9:00pm, was presented by the great late Bill Graham. The Sons Of Champlin, Frumious Bandersnatch, and Oxford Circle got an 'audition' at the Fillmore, meaning they played one set each to start the evening. Audition bands were common at the Fillmore, and they did not appear on the poster. "We worked for Bill [Graham] all the time," recalls Bill Champlin in an interview with Debra Schwartz in 2015. "Skippy, we called him Skppy. He kind of prided himself on having a little bit of a gruff approach and a reputation for being, that guy. Skippy's not the name of that guy. We called him Skippy just for kicks." It was supposedly after this audition that the Sons hired a new manager named Fred Roth, aka 'Bamboo', a thirty-year-old photographer who worked at the Fillmore Auditorium at that time, and some time later married Mary Ellen Simpson, the lead guitarist of the local all-girl band the Ace Of Cups. "When we met our [new] manager, who was like cooking at the Fillmore when we did our audition, he approached us saying, 'You guys are really great. I’d like to help represent you guys'," recalls Terry Haggerty in an interview with Debra Schwartz in 2019. "Terrible manager. An incredible spiritual mentor, friend of Gary Snyder, did all these poetry readings… We were so highly influenced by Fred Roth… It was almost like he was a bipolar person, ’cause he had some real highs and he had some pretty dark lows. He was never mean, but he would really withdraw inside at certain times. When he would take LSD, his whole body, it would all of a sudden just explode into this white fuzzy energy, around his whole body, and I’d seen him any number of times lying on the ground, just like in this, you know, Hallelujah kind of state of mind. Just with this amazing aura all around him, and you could hear it. It actually made this hissing sound almost, the energy coming off of him. I mean really a truly amazing, amazing human being, and for me personally, he was like everything from the dad that I never really had to the most incredible spiritual teacher." Friday, July 1, 1966: Fairfax Pavilion, 142 Bolinas Road, Fairfax, Marin County, CaliforniaThe band was misspelled as 'The Sons Of Champlain' on the local Daily Independent Journal newspaper ad. Also on the bill: The Rhythm Masters. The show, which lasted from 8:00pm to 12 midnight, was presented by Golden Star Promotions. ​

Daily Independent Journal (July 1, 1966)

Wednesday, July 6, 1966: 'Dance-Concert', Fillmore Auditorium, 1805 Geary Boulevard at Fillmore Street, Fillmore District, San Francisco, CaliforniaAlso on the bill: The Turtles, Oxford Circle. The show, which started at 9:00pm, was presented by Bill Graham. The Sons were not on the poster, but photographs from this event confirm their presence.

Friday, July 29 - Saturday, July 30, 1966: Fillmore Auditorium, 1805 Geary Boulevard at Fillmore Street, Fillmore District, San Francisco, CaliforniaThese shows, which started each day at 9:00pm, were presented by Bill Graham. The Sons did well enough at their audition show a month earlier, that Graham booked the band to open for Them, and they made it to the poster. Them lead singer Van Morrison had dug the Sons, and Bill Champlin and him hoisted a few drinks after the first night. Bill Graham blames Champlin for Van’s less than ready state on the second night, and as resulted the Sons were banned from the venue for two years! Anyway, the late Kingston Trio's manager and producer Frank Werber was in the audience at one of these shows and he liked the band, so he invited them at his four track recording studio for an audition a month later.

Friday, August 5, 1966: Fairfax Pavilion, 142 Bolinas Road, Fairfax, Marin County, CaliforniaAlso on the bill: The Public Nuisance. The show, which lasted from 8:00pm to 12 midnight, was presented by Golden Star Promotions.

August 1966: Columbus Recorders (aka Columbus Recording, aka Columbus Studios), (into the basement of) Columbus Tower (aka Sentinel Building, aka Flatiron Building), 916 Kearny Street, North Beach, San Francisco, California The Sons of Champlin entered Frank Werber's Columbus Recorders for an "audition recording session" that produced two original songs, 'One Of These Days' and 'Don't Stop', penned by Bill Champlin and Rob Moitoza respectively. They did well enough that Werber subsequently signed them to Trident Productions Inc. and Neenah Menasha Music Inc., respectively a production company and a publishing company he co-founded with the Kingston Trio a year earlier in San Francisco. "When we signed with Werber," recalls Bill Champlin, "we had to go to court to get the signatures okayed by the judge because we were all underage. I was maybe 17 [actually 19] at the time." The contract calls for recording of 12 songs in the first year, most of which will be written by the band members themselves. ​

Daily Independent Journal (October 6, 1966)

​August 1966 - February/March 1967: Columbus Recorders (aka Columbus Recording, aka Columbus Studios), (into the basement of) Columbus Tower (aka Sentinel Building, aka Flatiron Building), 916 Kearny Street, North Beach, San Francisco, California Over a seven months or so period, The Sons of Champlin recorded an album's worth of material with crew producer Randy Steirling at the Columbus Recorders. The band (augmented by Bill Champlin's older sister Sally on vocals in one or more songs) recorded 18 songs (including a curious spot for KCPX radio station), but ultimately only a couple of them were released as single in March 1967 on Verve Records, who had a deal with Trident Productions. Although it received some airplay in the Bay Area, the sunshiney, organ-driven 'Sing Me A Rainbow' single (which featured Rob Moitoza's 'Fat City' as a B-side) failed to chart nationwide. Its failure caused Trident to cancel the release of the planned album and the Sons finally split Trident with some acrimony in June 1967. Anyway, 'Sing Me A Rainbow' and 'Fat City' (both recorded in September 1966), plus the remaining previously unissued 18 tracks (included the two they recorded during their above mentioned audition in August 1966), were finally released only in the UK in February 1999 on a posthumous CD titled 'Fat City' (Big Beat CDWIKD 188; tracklist: '1. Sing Me A Rainbow (with Jim Myers on drums) / 2. She Said (with Jim Myers on drums) / 3. Don't Talk To Strangers / 4. 1,000 Miles From Nowhere (with Bill Bowen on drums) / 5. One Of The Days / 6. I wouldn't Put It Past You (with Chris Howard on drums) / 7. It's Gonna Rain / 8. Fat City (with Jim Myers on drums) / 9. To Me / 10. Green Monday / 11. Don't Stop / 12. Little Fugue / 13. Shades Of Grey / 14. Say You Know / 15. I Wish You Could Be Here / 16. One Of The Days (Audition) / 17. It's The End / 18. Pillow / 19. Don't Stop (Audition) / 20. KCPX Radio Spots'). By the way, because I did not know the exact recording date of most of the 20 tracks, I can't tell for sure who played drums on each songs because the band changed their drummer three times over those months!

Friday, September 2, 1966: Fairfax Pavilion, Fairfax, Marin County, CaliforniaAlso on the bill: The Pullice. The show, from 8:00pm to 12 midnight, was promoted by Golden Star Promotions Presents. ​​

September 1966 Jim Myers volunteered for Viet Nam, and was replaced by a drummer from San Francisco named Chris Howard.

​Thursday, October 13 - Friday, October 14, 1966: 'Dance Concert', The Ark, Gate 6, Sausalito, Marin County, CaliforniaAlso on the bill: Big Brother and The Holding Co., Moby Grape, and (possibly) Lee Michaels. Lights by Funny Co. One show a day, from 9:00pm to 2:00am.

Saturday, October 15, 1966: Fairfax Pavilion, Fairfax, Marin County, CaliforniaAlso on the bill: The Styx. The show, from 8:00pm to 12 midnight, was promoted by Golden Star Promotions Presents. ​

November 1966 (?)Chris Howard was replaced by William 'Bill' Bowen (b. 1947), formerly of The Electric Train, and The Front Line. Bowen, a former Tamalpais High School alumni (same graduation class of Bill Champlin, although the two had never met before), joined the band after he passed a series of auditions.​

​​Thursday, December 8 - Thursday, December 15, 1966: 'Sound Show', The Ark, Gate 6, Sausalito, Marin County, CaliforniaAlso on the bill: The Sparrow, The New Freudian Slips.

Friday, December 16 - Saturday, December 17, 1966: 'Dance Concert', Avalon Ballroom, 1268 Sutter Street at Van Ness Street, Polk Gulch, San Francisco, CaliforniaAlso on the bill: The Sparrow, The Youngbloods. Lights by Ben Van Meter and Roger Hillyard. These shows, which lasted from 9:00pm to 2:00am each day, were promoted by Family Dog Presents. Old friend and future road manager Charlie Kelly, on leave from the Army, saw the Sons of Champlin live for the first time. This was a memorable weekend for him, as he turned 21 during his leave back home, on his way to Viet Nam. ​

San Francisco Oracle (December 16, 1966)

Tuesday, December 20 - Thursday, December 22, 1966: 'Sound Show', The Ark, Gate 6, Sausalito, Marin County, CaliforniaAlso on the bill: The Sparrow, The New Freudian Slips.Friday, December 23, 1966: 'Band Bash', Santa Venetia National Guard Armory, 153 Madison Avenue, Santa Venetia, Marin County, CaliforniaThe band was misspelled as 'Sons Of Champlain' on the poster printed for this show. Also on the bill: Moby Grape, The Morning Glory, Freedom Highway, Beat-Ables, Nite-Riders, Baltimore Steam Packet, Axons, Tiny Hearing Aid Co. Lights by Zap. The show, from 8pm to 1am, was promoted by Ralph & Al Pepe Present. ​

Friday, January 6, 1967: ​'Coop Dance', Santa Rosa Junior College, 1501 Mendocino Avenue, Santa Rosa, Sonoma County, CaliforniaThe show, from 9:00pm to 12 midnight, was promoted by the school's dance commissioner Carol Whitfield. The Sons Of Champlin (misspelled as The Sons Of Chaplan on the poster printed for this show) filled in for the early announced The Wailers.

​Friday, January 27, 1967: Rollarena, 15721 East 14th Street, San Leandro, Alameda County, CaliforniaAlso on the bill: The Seeds. The show was promoted by Bill Quarry's Teens 'n' Twenties Presents.

Saturday, January 28, 1967: Longshoremen's Hall, 400 North Point, Fisherman's Wharf, San Francisco, CaliforniaThe band was misspelled as 'Sons Of Chaplin' on the poster printed for this show. Also on the bill: The Seeds, Misanthropes. The show was promoted by Bill Quarry's Teens 'n' Twenties Presents.

Wednesday, March 1, 1967: unknown recording studio, New York City, New York The Sons Of Champlin recorded their debut single, 'Sing Me A Rainbow / Fat City'.

​Friday, March 17, 1967: Rollarena, 15721 East 14th Street, San Leandro, Alameda County, CaliforniaThe band was misspelled as 'The Sons Of Chaplin' on the poster printed for this show. Also on the bill: Baytovens. The show, which started at 9:00pm, was promoted by Bill Quarry's Teens 'n' Twenties Presents.

San Francisco Chronicle (March 17, 1967)

Saturday, March 18, 1967: Longshoremen's Hall, 400 North Point, Fisherman's Wharf, San Francisco, CaliforniaAlso on the bill: Baytovens. The show, which started at 8:30pm, was promoted by Bill Quarry's Teens 'n' Twenties Presents.

March 1967Sons Of Champlin's debut single, 'Sing Me A Rainbow / Fat City' (Verve VK-10500), was released only in the US. KFRC, a San Francisco radio station, played the Sons single, and the sketchy chart information available confirms that 'Sing Me A Rainbow' spends at least 4 weeks on the KFRC 'Big 30'. It was listed as a hitbound on the first chart of May 1967. The following week it entered the chart at #27. Its chart lifetime was as follows: 27, 16, 16, 15, 11, 12, and 24.

Original in-store promotional poster for their 1967 single release

Billboard ad (May 6, 1967)

​Friday, April 14, 1967: Fairfax Park Pavilion, Fairfax, Marin County, CaliforniaAlso on the bill: The Morning Glory. Lights by That Blinkin' Light Company with Super Fats. The show, from 8:00pm to 12 midnight, was promoted by Golden Star Promotions presents.

April 22, 1967: 'A Special Gathering Of Various Offspring', Grace Pavilion, Sonoma County Fairgrounds, 1350 Bennett Valley Road, Santa Rosa, Sonoma County, CaliforniaAlso on the bill: Sons Of Liberty, Mother's Children. Lights by That Blinkin Light Company. The show, which lasted from 8:00pm to 12 midnight, was promoted by Golden Star Promotions presents.

Friday, May 19, 1967: Rollarena, 15721 East 14th Street, San Leandro, Alameda County, California (afternoon show)Also on the bill: Peter Wheat and The Breadmen, The Sounds Of Silver Darkness. The show was promoted by Bill Quarry's Teens 'n' Twenties Presents.​

Spring 1967: 'Big 610 Battle', Gymnasium, Novato High School, 625 Arthur Street, Novato, Marin County, CaliforniaThe Sons Of Champlin headlined a "battle of the bands" sponsored by Pepsi and 610 KFRC, a San Francisco radio station. Also on the bill: The Innovations, Dorian Mood, The Pendletons, Emergency Broad-Casting System, and others.

Spring 1967: 'Big 610 Battle', Boy's Gymnasium, Washington High School, 38442 Fremont Boulevard, Freemont, Alameda County, CaliforniaThe Sons of Champlin headlined a "battle of the bands" sponsored by Pepsi and 610 KFRC, a San Francisco radio station. Also on the bill: The Wakefield Loop, Collective Works, The Reason Why, and maybe others. Spring 1967: Gymnasium, Woodside High School, 199 Churchill Avenue, Woodside, San Mateo County, CaliforniaThe show was sponsored by 610 KFRC, a San Francisco radio station. David Biasotti, guitarist and future member of the semi-legendary band Maxfield Parrish, remembers seeing the Sons at a lunchtime gig at his high school. "An earlier, hornless version of the Sons played a radio station-sponsored noon thing in the gym of Woodside High School, my alma mater," David recalls, "I remember vividly that, as they were getting ready to start playing, Terry Haggerty had a guitar strap malfunction and his beautiful fat Gibson Birdland (or whaterver it was) just crashed onto the gym floor. Which caused me and my pal to crack up in a snarky way. Once the guy started playing though, our jaws dropped." ​Sunday, June 11, 1967: 'KFRC Fantasy Fair And Magic Mountain Music Festival - A Benefit for the Hunter's Point Child Care Center', Sidney B. Cushing Memorial Amphitheatre, Mount Tamalpais State Park, Marin County, CaliforniaThe festival, which was sponsored by San Francisco's radio station 610 KFRC, was originally booked for the weekend of June 3-4 (the Sons Of Champlin were scheduled to appear on June 3), but it was rained out and rescheduled for the next weekend (June 10-11, from 10:00am to 6:00pm each day). It was a week before Monterey Pop, and sort of an effort to accomplish the same thing. The open air theater was at the top of a mountain, and the crowds completely overwhelmed the venue, causing the city to ban all future rock shows (save for a few already scheduled). Also on the bill: Jefferson Airplane, The Byrds with Hugh Masekela, P.F. Sloan, Country Joe and The Fish, The Grass Roots, The Lamp Of Childhood, The 5th Dimension, Penny Nichols, The Seeds, Captain Beefheart and His Magic Band, Loading Zone, Tim Buckley, Every Mother's Son, Steve Miller Blues Band, The Mystery Trend, The Merry-Go-Round, The New Salvation Army Banned. "The Sons played the main stage at the festival at around 8:00am and people were just starting to wander in at that time," recalls Bill Champlin. "There was a stage in another area that we also played, but it was while the big stage was trotting out the bigger names. It was a great event that was the Grand Daddy of ‘em all, in some ways. I remember Dionne Warwick with a small jazz trio; she mesmerized the place. I saw the Doors and some other groups I’d never seen before, and it was a very cool thing. I always wondered why there was never another one like that on Mt Tam."​​

San Francisco Chronicle (May 21, 1967)

Berkeley Barb (June 9, 1967)

Sunday, June 11, 1967: 'The Valley Of Dancing', parking lot of the Sidney B. Cushing Memorial Amphitheatre, Mount Tamalpais State Park, Marin County, CaliforniaAccess to the above mentioned festival was only possible by shuttle bus, so fans parked at the foot of the mountain and waited for the overcrowded shuttle. Some Marin County bands entertained fans in the parking lot while they waited, and it was called 'The Valley Of Dancing.' The Sons played both the parking lot and the main festival exactly. Also on the bill: The Spiders, The Strawberry Window, Harbinger Complex, The Joint Heads of State.

Thursday, June 22, 1967: 'Your Day In The Sun - Free Concert', Bandshell, Music Concourse, Golden Gate Park, 50 Hagiwara Tea Garden Drive, Unified School District, San Francisco, CaliforniaThe Sons Of Champlin played during one of the summer jazz-rock concerts sponsored by the San Francisco Examiner daily newspaper and held weekly each Thursday from 1:00 to 3:00pm in the Golden Gate Park's bandshell. The free show was hosted by SF Examiner jazz critic Phil Elwood. Also on the bill: The Miller Blues Band, Ridge Runners.

​Wednesday, June 28, 1967: Oakland Civic Auditorium, 10 10th Street, Oakland, Alameda County, CaliforniaAlso on the bill: Grateful Dead (filled in for the originally advertised Sparrow), Country Joe and The Fish, Young Rascals, Grass Roots. Lights by Bob Holt Light Productions. The show was promoted by Bill Quarry's Teens 'n' Twenties Presents. ​

Friday, June 30, 1967: Longshoremen's Hall, 400 North Point, Fisherman's Wharf, San Francisco, CaliforniaAlso on the bill: Country Joe and The Fish, Mystery Trend, Glen Adams (MC). Lights by Bob Holt. The show, from 8:00pm to 12 midnight, was promoted by A Human Noise Production.

Friday, June 30, 1967Due to artistic disagreements between the band and Frank Werber, the latter released the Sons from contractual obligations as of June 30, 1967. Werber would largely drop out of the music business, while the Sons pursued a less commercial and more psychedelic course.

Tuesday, July 4 - Thursday, July 6, 1967: Carousel Ballroom, 10 South Van Ness Avenue at 1545 Market Street, San Francisco, CaliforniaAlso on the bill: Canned Heat (4-5), The Robbs (4), Kaleidoscope (5-6), Count Five (6). Lights by The Great Northwest Fantasmagoria. One show a day, from 9:00pm to 1:00am.​​

Saturday, July 8, 1967: Terrace Room, 1500 Almaden Road, San Jose, Santa Clara County, CaliforniaThe band was misspelled as 'Sons Of Chaplin' on the poster printed for this show. Also on the bill: Chocolate Watchband, Velvet Chain. Lights by The Celestial Kaleidoscope. One show, from 8:00pm to 1:00am. ​

Friday, July 14, 1967: Bold Knight, 769 North Mathilda Avenue, Sunnyvale, Santa Clara County, CaliforniaAlso on the bill: The New Dehli River Band. Lights by Light Troupe West. One show, from 9:00pm to 1:00am.

Sunday, August 6, 1967: 'Pacific Vietnam Summer Peace Rock Fair', Football Field, Terra Nova High School, 1450 Terra Nova Boulevard, Pacifica, San Mateo County, CaliforniaAlso on the bill: San Francisco Mime Troupe, Keating, David Harris, and more. One show, from 12 noon to 5:00pm. Tuesday, August 8 - Thursday, August 10, 1967: 'In Concert', The Matrix, 3138 Fillmore Street, Marina District, San Francisco, CaliforniaAlso on the bill: The Buffum Tool Co. (misspelled on the poster as The Bussom Tool Co.). Lights by Chance.

Friday, August 18 - Sunday, August 20, 1967: The Matrix, 3138 Fillmore Street, Marina District, San Francisco, CaliforniaThe band was misspelled as 'Sons Of Chaplin' on the poster printed for these shows (where they filled in for Howlin' Wolf). Also on the bill: The Buffum Tool Co.

​Saturday, September 2 - Sunday, September 3, 1967: '2 Days And Nights Of Magic Music Dancing On The Grass - Benefit for SCA at Santa Cruz', Stadium, Cabrillo College, 6500 Soquel Drive, Aptos, Santa Cruz County, California (canceled)The band was misspelled as 'Sons Of Champlain' on the poster printed for this festival. Also on the bill: Grateful Dead, The Leaves, Canned Heat, Andrew Staples, New Dehli River Band, Second Coming, New Breed, BFD Blues Band, Gross Exaggeration, Yajahla Tingle Guild, People, Jaguars, Art Collection, Morning Glory, Ben Frank's Electric Band, New Frontier, Chocolate Watch Band, The Other Side, E-Types, Mourning Reign, Imperial Mange Remedy, Omens, Ragged Staff, Talon Wedge, and others. Lights by STP. One show a day, from 3:00pm to 12 midnight. Anyway, the festival was finally canceled because it has not been authorized by the college, according to Cabrillo officials.

Santa Cruz Sentinel (August 29, 1967)

Tuesday, September 5 - Thursday, September 7, 1967: The Matrix, 3138 Fillmore Street, Marina District, San Francisco, CaliforniaThe band was misspelled as 'Sons Of Chaplin' on the poster printed for these shows. Also on the bill: West Coast Natural Gas. Lights by Gum.​

Friday, September 29 - Saturday, September 30, 1967: 'Dance', Straight Theater, 1702 Haight Street at Cole Street, Haight-Ashbury, San Francisco, CaliforniaAlso on the bill: Grateful Dead, and other groovies. Lights by Reginald Straight Lightning. Sounds by Danger Field. One show a day, which started at 8:30pm (and not at 9:00pm as an early handbill said). ​

​Friday, October 6 - Saturday, October 7, 1967: 'Dance Lesson', Western Front, 895 O'Farrell Street at Polk Street, San Francisco, CaliforniaAlso on the bill: Frumious Bandersnatch (6-7), Morning Glory (6), Dr. P.H. Martin's Magic Medicine Show (7; filled in for the advertised Initial Shock). The Western Front was a new venue run by the original Family Dog proprietors.

Friday, November 3, 1967: Mill Valley Community and Youth Center, 180 Camillo Alto, loMill Valley, Marin County, CaliforniaAlso on the bill: Joe Hart Thing. Lights by Pacific Graph Extortion. The show, from 8:00pm to 12 midnight, was sponsored by the Mill Valley Teen Club and Mill Valley Parks and Recreation Department. The show was open only to students of the Tamalpais High School attendance area.

Friday, November 10 - Saturday, November 11, 1967: Family Dog, 1601 West Evans Street, Denver, ColoradoAlso on bill: The Other Half. Lights by Diogenes Lantern Works. These shows were promoted by Family Dog Presents (Chet Helms had opened a branch of the Family Dog in Denver, which turned out to be an ill fated venture). ​

Al Strong and Terry Haggerty at the University of Denver, November 16, 1967

Al Strong and Terry Haggerty at the University of Denver, November 16, 1967

Tim Cain at the University of Denver, November 16, 1967

Bill Champlin and Terry Haggerty at the University of Denver, November 16, 1967

Bill Bowen at the University of Denver, November 16, 1967

Al Strong at the University of Denver, November 16, 1967

Bill Champlin at the University of Denver, November 16, 1967

Friday, November 17 - Saturday, November 18, 1967: Family Dog, 1601 West Evans Street, Denver, ColoradoAlso on the bill: Chuck Berry (backed by New World Blues Dictionary). Lights by Diogenes Lantern Works. These shows were promoted by Family Dog Presents.

​Late November 1967The Sons Of Champlin added Bob Cain's Army buddy Geoffrey 'Geoff' Palmer (b. Chicago, Illinois) on vocals, keyboards, and vibes. Geoff was the son of professional musicians, and could play numerous instruments such as baritone sax, drums, bass, and tablas, with style. "Bob Cain and I were in signal school in Fort Monmouth, New Jersey," Geoff Palmer recalls in an interview with Joe Mathews. "So he said when you’re coming through you can stay over at my house. He said once that happened that he’d take me over and that I could jam with his brother’s band, which was the Sons. So I said OK. Bob told his brother, Tim, and I guess Tim told Bill and Bill said it was OK. So I went over there and played a little bit of organ, and they went, 'Ooooh, we’ve got to have you, man. Do you want to join the band?' And because I was playing like Jimmy Smith and doing some cool stuff, Bill saw that if I could play organ some of the time, and that I could play R&B too, he could play some guitar. Bill was a guitar player too. When I met him he was into playing guitar almost as much as he was organ, although he knew that organ was the sound for him, it was his musical voice. He was really the best accompanist for his style, probably better than me. But I did pretty good in my own unique way, and my interpretations of Bill’s songs always sounded different, but good. We both had a powerful approach, it’s just that mine was a little different. So, that was kind of good in that it changed it up in the musical department. And when he would go to guitar, the texture of the band would change which was cool there too. Hey, why not? That made it more dynamically interesting. Because of this, we did what we called the Chinese fire drills where he’d run over to guitar, and I’d run over to the piano, and run back to the organ, then Bill would play baritone, and so on, you know? And that was a part of it. But then we started to have full time horn sections so we didn’t have to keep that up." By the way, shortly after the band also added Bob and Geoff's Army buddy Jim Beem on trumpet.

​December 1967The Sons Of Champlin find a regular rehearsal space at the Heliport in Sausalito, near The Ark. They occupied a room formerly used by the recently disbanded The California Memorial Band. "We lost the room at the Heliport, and the Sons Of Champlin moved into that room," CMB's bass player John Barrett confirms. The Heliport "was this huge, cavernous building on the edge of the bay between Mill Valley and Sausalito which housed a commercial chopper and seaplane service," Charlie Kelly recalls. "The air service only took part of the building, and the rest was rented out to bands for practice halls. The helicopters made so much noise that a few rock bands didn't make much difference. We had one of the biggest rooms, at the top of a flight of stairs, and Terry lived there off and on even though no one was supposed to stay overnight. I contributed one of the decorations of the practice hall, an enlarged x-ray plate of my skeletal hand flipping the bird, a souvenir of working in an Army hospital. It was commandeered and hung in the window to entertain the troops in the parking lot." "The Ace of Cups had the primo location, a ground floor practice hall with a garage door, formerly occupied by Mike Bloomfield's Electric Flag," Charlie adds. "All our equipment had to be hauled up a flight of stairs to the hall, and when it came to the Hammond Organ, that isn't easy. The organ was topheavy, awkward, and had no handles. One guy had to get into the truck and pick up his end in a pose that no orthopedic specialist would recommend, while the other guy dragged an end out of the truck, then we both picked it up and staggered up the stairs. Some of the other bands which practiced there were Quicksilver Messenger Service and Freedom Highway. These bands had in common the fact that they were managed by West Pole, a company loosely led by Ron Polte, the Quicksilver manager, and his brother Frank, who was the chief Quicksilver roadie. Ron also managed the Ace of Cups, an all-female band whose guitar player eventually married Fred Roth. West Pole associate George Smith managed Freedom Highway, a trio whose drummer, Bruce Brymer, would later sing a track on the third Sons album. Sons' manager Fred Roth worked for a time out of the West Pole offices in San Francisco during the period leading up to the first Capitol album."​Friday, December 8 - Sunday, December 10, 1967: Avalon Ballroom, 1268 Sutter Street at Van Ness Street, Polk Gulch, San Francisco, CaliforniaSupposedly Geoff Palmer and Jim Beem's first gigs with The Sons Of Champlin. Also on the bill: Jim Kweskin Jug Band. Lights by Diogenes Lantern Works. These shows were promoted by Family Dog Presents.​

​Friday, December 29 - Saturday, December 30, 1967: Concord Coliseum, 1825 Salvio Street, Concord, Contra Costa County, CaliforniaThe band was misspelled as 'The Sons Of Champlain' on the flyer printed for these shows. Also on the bill a special surprise band each nite.

​Friday, January 26 - Saturday, January 27, 1968: Straight Theater, 1702 Haight Street at Cole Street, Haight-Ashbury, San Francisco, CaliforniaAlso on the bill: Mad River Band, Peace. One show a day, from 9:00pm to 2:00am.

Friday, February 2 - Sunday, February 4, 1968: Avalon Ballroom, 1268 Sutter Street at Van Ness Street, Polk Gulch, San Francisco, CaliforniaThe Sons Of Champlin filled in for the 13th Floor Elevators who were billed on the gig poster but cancelled at last minute for unknown reasons. Also on the bill: Electric Flag (2, 4), Mad River (2-4), The Fugs (3). Lights by Diogenes Lantern Works (2-4). These shows, which lasted from 9:00pm to 2:00am each day, were promoted by Family Dog Presents.

Friday, March 29 - Sunday, March 31, 1968: 'Concert And Dance', Avalon Ballroom, 1268 Sutter Street at Van Ness Street, Polk Gulch, San Francisco, CaliforniaAlso on the bill: Alexander's Timeless Bloozband, Jeremy Steig & The Satyrs, The 4th Way. Lights by Electroc Luminencense. These shows, which lasted from 9:00pm to 2:00am each day, were promoted by Family Dog Presents.

Thursday, April 4, 1968: ​Fillmore Auditorium, 1805 Geary Boulevard at Fillmore Street, Fillmore District, San Francisco, CaliforniaAlso on the bill: Eric Burdon and The Animals, Quicksilver Messenger Service. Lights by Holy See. This show was promoted by Bill Graham Presents In San Francisco. One show, started at 9:00pm.

Friday, April 5 - Saturday, April 6, 1968: Winterland, 2000 Post Street at Steiner Street, San Francisco, CaliforniaAlso on the bill: Eric Burdon and The Animals, Quicksilver Messenger Service. Lights by McKay's Headlights. These shows, which started at 9:00pm each day, were promoted by Bill Graham Presents In San Francisco. "I remember one time we were at the Winterland, and Bill [Graham] thought of himself as being a really great ping-pong player." Bill Champlin recalls in an interview with Debra Schwartz in 2015, "But he hadn’t come near Geoff Palmer at some point. Geoff Palmer, whatever he does turns to gold. Our keyboard player. Keyboards, and vibes, and tablas, and bass, and drums, and you name it. This guy is one of the most amazing musicians on the Earth. Geoff was in the USO [United Service Organizations]. He did the USO shows when he was in the service. So that means that they were hanging out playing ping-pong all day long in the Orient. So he learned how to hold a paddle like this guy. At one point we said, 'Hey Bill, how about you and Geoff go on three, you know, best two out of three, double or nothing on how much you’re gonna pay us.' At some point in the game we were all standing around and he realized he was being hustled, he says, 'No I’m not gonna do that. I know what’s going on here, but I’d like to play him.' And it was, you know, Palmer just skunked him 7-0, 7-0, 7-0, just right off the bat. It would have cost him a little bit of money, and he never really paid us very much anyway, so it wouldn’t have made that much of a difference. That’s just Graham. I actually liked Bill. I got along with him pretty good, in a weird sort of a way."​

​Wednesday, April 10, 1968: 'Peace & Freedom', Fillmore Auditorium, 1805 Geary Boulevard at Fillmore Street, Fillmore District, San Francisco, CaliforniaThis Wednesday night Fillmore show was (8:30pm to 2:00am) not a Bill Graham Presents show (although obviously the hall was leased from Graham). I believe it was a benefit for The Peace and Freedom party, an anti-war coalition who were competing in the California Presidential Primary in June. Also on the bill: Country Joe and The Fish (filled in for The Jeff Beck Group), Loading Zone, Mt Rushmore, Cleveland Wrecking Co. Lights by Garden Of Delights.​

​Friday, April 19, 1968: Straight Theater, 1702 Haight Street at Cole Street, Haight-Ashbury, San Francisco, CaliforniaLights by Brotherhood of Light. One show, started at 9:00pm. ​​​Wednesday, April 24, 1968: 'Its Save The Straight Theater Time Again - Straight Theater Benefit', Straight Theater, 1702 Haight Street at Cole Street, Haight-Ashbury, San Francisco, CaliforniaThe Straight Theater, in the heart of the Haight-Ashbury, was a hippie enterprise through and through, but continual struggles to get open in 1966 and '67 had caused them to miss the boom time of local rock concerts. As a result the venue was continually in dire straits. This ironically titled event was another benefit by local bands who were trying to keep one of their favorite places afloat. Also on the bill: Big Brother and The Holding Company, The Congress Of Wonders, Curly Cook's [sic] Hurdy Gurdy Band, Indian Head Band, Ace Of Cups, Phoenix. Lights by Straight Lightning. One show, started at 8:00pm.

Friday, ​April 26 - Sunday, April 28, 1968: Carousel Ballroom, 10 South Van Ness Avenue at 1545 Market Street, San Francisco, CaliforniaAlso on the bill: The Steve Miller Band, James & Bobby Purify. Lights by North American Ibis Alchemical Company. At this time, the Carousel Ballroom was managed by the Grateful Dead organization. It, too, was a fun place to play that was struggling financially. Tapes of Steve Miller’s sets survive, although not of the Sons. Apparently, the Sons jammed a little blues with Miller on the first night.

Friday, May 3 - Saturday, May 4, 1968: Straight Theater, 1702 Haight Street at Cole Street, Haight-Ashbury, San Francisco, CaliforniaAlso on the bill: Country Weather Band, Martha's Laundry. One show each day, started at 9:00pm.

Sunday, May 5, 1968: 'Mill Valley Center Benefit For The Performing Arts', Gymnasium, College of Marin, 835 College Avenue, Kentfield, Marin County, CaliforniaAlso on the bill: Quicksilver Messenger Service, Clover. One show, started at 2:00pm. ​

​Wednesday, May 15, 1968: 'Benefit - Dick Gregory for President', Avalon Ballroom, 1268 Sutter Street at Van Ness Street, Polk Gulch, San Francisco, California (canceled)The band was misspelled as 'Sons Of Champlain' on the poster printed for this show (but not on the printed handbill). This benefit, from 8:30pm to 2:00am, was sponsored by The Dick Gregory for President Committee, an ad-hoc committee of the Peace and Freedom Party-Movement (Gregory was the Peace and Freedom candidate). Also on the bill: Cleveland Wrecking Co., Hyler Jones Quartet, Kaleidoscope, Monty Waters Big Band. Lights by Garden Of Delights.

​Saturday, May 18, 1968: 'Northern California Folk-Rock Festival', Family Park, Santa Clara County Fairgrounds, 344 Tully Road, San Jose, Santa Clara County, CaliforniaAlso on the bill: Morning Reign, Indian Headband, Transatlantic Railroad, Chrome Syrcus, People, Youngbloods, Steve Miller Band, Grateful Dead, Big Brother and The Holding Company, Jefferson Airplane. This was the first day of a two-day festival (May 18-19), and the Sons were one of a number of groups that performed although they did not appeared on the original poster printed for this festival (but appeared on a later printed festival program). The Sons played a 30-minute set from 12:30pm to 1:00pm. They would have gone back up Highway 101 to play their show at the Avalon that night. Charlie Kelly, still just hanging out with his friends, joined the Sons at the show, and helped out by moving the truck and performing some other tasks. At this point, he wasn't on the crew, just a friend. At this time, the Sons had two road crew members, but one of them didn't drive. Nonetheless, the Sons set out on a brief road trip to Southern California, and the difficulties of having only one crew member who could drive became paramount. ​

Friday, May 24 - Saturday, May 25, 1968: Kaleidoscope, 6230 Sunset Boulevard, Downtown Hollywood, Los Angeles County, California Also on the bill: Them, The Incredible String Band. Lights by Thomas Edison Castle Lights. One show a day, started at 9:00pm. ​

Friday, May 31 - Saturday, June 1, 1968: 'Dance Concert', Shrine Exposition Hall, 700 West 32nd Street at Figueroa Street, South Los Angeles, California Also on the bill: The Yardbirds, B.B. King. Lights by Single Wing Turquoise Bird. One show a day, from 8pm to 2am, promoted by Pinnacle. "B.B. [King] was supposed to use our Hammond organ with his organ player who had brought a set of base pedals." Bill Champlin recalls in an interview with Debra Schwartz in 2015, "The organ broke right on the end of our set, and B.B. needed a bass player. And our bass player went to grab his bass. It was an Ampeg fretless bass, and I went over to him. I said, 'Al, have you ever heard of B.B. King?' He said, 'No.' I said, 'Can you name me one of his songs?' He said, 'No.' I said, 'Gimme that.' So I went and played a gig with B.B. King when I was 21, 22, something like that. That was a big moment in my life." ​

Sunday, June 23, 1968: 'Free You Be In', El Camino Park, 100 El Camino Real, Palo Alto, Santa Clara County, CaliforniaThe band was misspelled as 'The Sons Of Champlain' on the ad printed for this be-in which lasted from noon to dusk and that was sponsored by the Midpeninsula Free University, a South Bay locus for various form of consciousness expansion. Also on the bill: Charlie Musselwhite, Notes From The Underground. David Biasotti, guitarist of the semi-legendary band Maxfield Parrish and future music editor and writer, remembers seeing the Sons at the Be In. "I do recall the Sons of Champlin vividly, 'coz that was my first experience of them as a horn band, and they knocked me out."

​​​July ?, 1968After a difficult road trip to Los Angeles a month earlier, and just prior to another trip to Southern California, the Sons Of Champlin decided that they needed two roadies who could drive. David Harris moved on, and their old friend Charlie Kelly joined Steve 'Tooth' Tobin (aka Steven Tollestrup) in the road crew. Born in 1945, Charlie grew up in Mill Valley and attended Tamalpais High School. After graduating from Tam, he briefly attendend College of Marin before drafted in the Army, where he served for two years (1966-68). When he returned to Mill Valley he began working as a road manager for the Sons, missing only four of their gigs in the next 42 years he worked for them. "Charlie was our roadie for, really a long time." Bill Champlin recalls in an interview with Debra Schwartz in 2015, "We always considered Charlie the heart and soul of The Sons, you know. Charlie was and is the best friend we’ve ever had. He’s just the sweetest guy. You look at him and you go, 'Well, this guy’s just a roadie and this, that and the other thing.' This guy is packing some gray matter. I mean, Charlie is anything but - what is the word for it? There’s nothing about him that’s pedestrian. He is a smart, smart, smart person. Great writer. When he was writing his book, the one that he just put out - Fat Tire Flyer. He wrote a couple of chapters and sent it in. They said, 'Well, you know, send us something, and we’ll get you with a ghost writer. We’ll get you with a co-writer who can actually write this stuff.' And they called him back and said, 'You don’t need one. You’re writing fine.' I mean, both him and his brother Jim are very good at English. They really know what they’re doing. He’s the greatest. He’s just, in so many ways, one of the most selfless people I’ve ever met. And it’s just that I love him to death, always have."Thursday, July 4 - Friday, July 5, 1968: 'Dance-Concert', Kaleidoscope, 6230 Sunset Boulevard, Downtown Hollywood, Los Angeles County, California Also on the bill: Canned Heat, Sly and The Family Stone, plus film "The Tomb Of Ligeia". Two shows a day, 9:00pm and 11:00pm. "Steve Tobin and I took the truck down to L.A. in the summer of '68, the first of I don't know how many drives I made there for the band." their new road manager Charlie Kelly recalls, "It's a good thing Steve knew something about what he was doing, because I sure didn't. We drove down the coast and finally found the Kaleidoscope Theater in Hollywood. We unloaded the equipment there, and then drove out to the airport to pick up the band and Fred Roth, the manager. All together there were ten of us: Bill Champlin, Bill Bowen, Terry Haggerty, Geoff Palmer, Tim Cain, Jim Beem, Al Strong, Fred Roth, Tooth and myself. Everyone had the longest possible hair, mid-back in some cases, Mine was the shortest, because I had only been out of the Army for a few months. Five or six of the guys also wore beards. We were as shaggy as we could be, and the world was not yet used to this many guys who all looked like this traveling together. We picked up the band in the equipment van, which would be our only vehicle. Everyone crowded in, and once again it was overloaded, wallowing, and dangerous as hell. Everyone smoked at that time, and we bought a carton of cigarettes every day to keep everyone supplied. The van would fill up with smoke and we rocketed around town, always traveling together. Stragglers knew they would die if left alone out there, and with only one set of wheels, we were a close knit gang. One afternoon a bunch of midwestern tourists stopped us outside the Kaleidoscope. Could they take a picture with us. Us? You mean, you've heard of the Sons of Champlin? Huh? It turned out that we were a wonderful crowd of authentic but reasonably safe looking hippies who would be perfect background for a photo to send to Aunt Hazel. On another occasion we were kicked out of a restaurant for our looks alone. We weren't rowdy, and it was a hippie-veggie restaurant run by devotees of one Swami Yogananda. A photo of the good Swami hung on the counter, and he had hair to his butt and a beard to his knees, and he dressed even funnier. We didn't fail to point out the irony to the holy types running the place, and we went to the Copper Penny down the street. After two years of Army chow, I had no problem with anything served at a coffee shop. It turned out that the guys in general were a little more veggie-organic than the run of the mill coffee shop then catered to, and there was a lot of grumbling. This food focus was a repeated them over the years. Face it, sometimes you gotta eat what America eats, and I could do that. You guys ever eat Army chow?. Cut to the chase, you're saying, did these guys ever play any music? The headliner at the Kaleidoscope was Canned Heat, then Sly and the Family Stone, and the Sons of Champlin. The Kaleidoscope had once been the broadcast home of a fifties TV show, 'Queen for a Day.' In this show women competed to tell about how bummed out their lives were, and the biggest bummer got a bunch of prizes and one day of limo service. Like Oprah, but with prizes for the biggest bummer. Originally designed to show off the prizes ('A complete set of pool accessories...'), the stage was an enormous disc that revolved, and the idea was that each band could set up permanently and then be revolved into place, rather than physically moving equipment. Each band played two sets, alternating, and the audience stayed through all six sets. The sets were fairly short, about 40 minutes, which was enough for five or six of the Sons' long songs and one Canned Heat song. At only 15 minutes, 'Freedom' wasn't the longest song played on that show; the winner was 'Refried Boogie' by Canned Heat, which took an entire set. Because they were recording a live track for an album, Canned Heat played the same song each set, to the same audience that had heard it an hour and a half earlier. Over the two night stand, they played it four times, and no other song. 'Refried Boogie' is a one-chord song, which for the purposes of a live performance featured lengthy unaccompanied solos by each member of the band. Ten minutes of monstrously loud guitar jamming on an E chord followed by ten minutes of bass jamming on an E chord followed by ten minutes of harp solo followed by ten minutes of slide guitar solo, and then, THE DRUM SOLO! After that, they play the head, sing the one verse, and quit until the second set. The audience had to hear it only twice a night. I HAD TO HEAR IT FOUR TIMES! Did I say that Canned Heat guitarist Henry Vestine had what he claimed was the most powerful guitar amplifier on the planet? This thing weighed a couple of hundred pounds, it drove six huge speaker cabinets, and it had to have a big fan behind it to keep it from melting through the stage. Next to all that, the Sons looked positively acoustic. The Kaleidoscope was going to be the first performance of 'Freedom.' The song had been put together over a month or so, from two or three tunes that were then grafted together and fattened out with solos for a fifteen minute piece. Before the second set of the first night, the band got together in the dressing room for one more run-through. We didn't have enough amps to keep one in the back room, so they were all reduced to singing their parts while Bowen pounded his sticks on his practice pad and a chair. It sounded great, like a Dixieland Barbershop acid experience, but that was the only time they ever did it.The first arrangement of 'Freedom' had a section the band referred to as the 'free part' just before Terry's guitar solo. In this, all rhythm dropped away, and they drifted until a cue riff brought everyone back onto a beat. It didn't work very well with the L.A. audience, so it was given a little more definite beat, which is the way it was recorded. Bill's scat singing was a new experience for some of the audience also. In this original version of the song, he built his scat around a phrase and a riff by Rob Moitoza, 'Show me the way to get to soulville, show me the way to get home.' This was left off the record because Bill didn't want to use a close friend's lick if the guy wasn't going to get royalties. And he wasn't. Sly Stone had a great act, with horns and a pounding rhythm section, Hammond organ, screaming vocals, a girl trumpet player, a guitar and bass duo who could deliver great licks while doing outrageous steps. Even if they played in a repetitive groove, they kicked ass in it. After the show, we had to find a place to stay. What, no hotel? They cost money, and there wasn't enough to put us all up, so we always winged it when it came to that. The Sons would complain about food, but they would sleep anywhere. While we were at the Kaleidoscope, we stayed at the Hog Farm, a commune in the mountains high above Van Nuys. It had been famous, but was now practically deserted except for Steve Rhodes, who acted as our host, and was ever afterward referred to in the band as 'Hog' Steve. We found places to crash in the funky farm buildings; the only hassle was the 45 minute drive with all of us in the equipment van capped off by a stretch of really bad dirt road on top of some major mountain. No one wanted the job of driving up there, and if it fell to me I don't remember."​

Saturday, July 6, 1968 The Sons Of Champlin attended the Kaleidoscope's 'Independence Day Spectacular', an event which featured Spirit, The Doors, Chad Stuart, Pat Paulsen, Congress Of Wonders, and the Kaleidoscope Orchestra, alongside The Kaleido-Kadettes, luscious showgirls, a movie, live animals on stage, lights, and stars too big to name. "The Kaleidoscope gig was two days, so we stayed up at the Hog Farm those nights." Charlie Kelly recalls, "After that, there was a 24-hour a day film festival at the Kaleidoscope, so we crashed in there with arty Japanese movies going on every time we woke up. One afternoon we walked down the street to see '2001 - A Space Odyssey' at the Cinerama. We kept our equipment stashed at the Kaleidoscope because if we loaded our van, there was no way for us to all get around. Every time the van rolled, it had ten guys and luggage in it. We couldn't help feel like a close-knit gang. Even though the band played convincing blues, it was really a bunch of suburban white boys, and this first visit to Hollywood was for some of us our first exposure to the really seedy world we were going to live in for a while. We met for the first time a culture where everyone took downers or uppers all the time and thought nothing of it. This was a whole new category of drug use from the psychedelic San Francisco scene. It wasn't a conscious thing, but when we were on the road, the world was divided into 'us' and 'them,' and them was everybody but us ten. As Custer probably said, 'There sure are a lot of THEM out there.'"

Friday, July 12 - Saturday, July 13, 1968: 'Dance Concert', Hippodrome, Front Street at West G Street, downtown San Diego, California Dr. John The Night Tripper and His Louisiana Voodoo Show was billed on the poster printed for these shows, but he canceled at last minute for unknown reasons, and the Sons Of Champlin filled in for him. These shows, which started at 8:30pm each day, were promoted by Trans-Love Airways Productions. Lights by Mirkwood. "After the Kaleidoscope gig we went to San Diego for a couple of nights at a place called the Hippodrome, the band's first visit there also." Charlie Kelly recalls, "Tooth and I drove the equipment, and the rest of the guys took the bus. We had dropped off the equipment and went to get they guys at the bus station. We parked the van and went in to get the guys, and when we all ten of us stepped out on the sidewalk, police cars pulled up from several directions and cops piled out. In a town where half the population is military, ten bearded longhairs looked like an invasion, and they wanted to know what the hell we had in mind. We had to produce identification, which was not always easy. Terry especially had a hard time hanging onto wallets, so we all had to vouch for him. We just told them the truth, which was we were a rock band that traveled on the bus, and they finally let us off the hook, but with a warning to avoid any appearance of mopery with intent to loiter. I don't remember much about the San Diego gig, but I understand that in the uptight town it was one of the first real acid rock, long haired, real loud concerts ever to take place. You wouldn't see long hair anywhere on the street in San Diego, but the hippies materialized for the show, and it was one of the first events there where isolated members of the hip community found the other members. People who attended it became the core of the band's fans in San Diego for the rest of the band's existence, and San Diego welcomed the Sons a lot of times over the years. The total trip was about ten days, of incredible group closeness. Us against them, and there are a lot more of them. And in San Diego at least, we had an outpost."Saturday, July 20, 1968: The Cheetah, 1 Navy Street, Santa Monica (actually just over the line in Venice Beach), Los Angeles County, CaliforniaThe show, which lasted from 8:30pm to 2:00am, was presented by High Torr. Also on the bill: Charlie Musselwhite, Lee Michaels (filled in for The Ike & Tina Turner Revue), Kaleidoscope. 360° Lights & Cinema By Thomas Edison & Castle Lighting.​​Saturday, July 20, 1968: 'A Dance Concert', Bold Knight, 769 North Mathilda Avenue, Sunnyvale, Santa Clara County, CaliforniaThe Bold Knight was a "teen club" (no alcohol, some kind of age limit) in Sunnyvale, a suburb of San Jose. The flyer for this show (see below) features an artist's rendition of Bill Champlin and Tim Cain. Also on the bill: Ace Of Cups, Weird Herald. Lights by Mr. What and Los Color Circus. One show, from 8:00pm to 1:00am. It was around this period that the West-Pole booking agency started booking the Sons. ​

​Friday, July 26, 1968: St. Elizabeth High School, 1530 34th Avenue, Oakland, Alameda County, CaliforniaAlso on the bill: Friend.

​​Sunday, July 28, 1968: 'The Flick presents Come! - Summer Rock Concert! at Stanford', Laurence Frost Amphitheater, Leland Stanford Junior University, Lasuen Street, Stanford, Santa Clara County, CaliforniaThe benefit, from 2am to 7pm, was sponsored by Media Unlimited, a Stanford University student organization. Also on the bill: Quicksilver Messenger Service, Chambers Brothers, Creedence Clearwater Revival, Santana Blues Band, Beggar's Opera (filled in for Morning Gory), Gypsum Heaps, Edward Bear (MC). "At the Frost, their set was pretty much drawn from the material that came out early in 1969 on Loosen Up Naturally, their first and best album," eyewitness Michael Parrish recalls. "Knowing them only from the single at that point, I found their combination of jazz influences (Haggerty's angular, unorthodox solos, the horns, and Palmer's vibes) and Champlin's soulful vocals and organ, irrestistible. This was either my first or second time seeing the Sons, but I have kept seeing them whenever I get the opportunity over the years. Although the group has broken up more than a few times, and changed players with abandon, I have never seen a bad Sons gig."

Summer 1968: Kings Beach Bowl, North Lake Avenue, North Lake Tahoe, Sierra Nevada, CaliforniaAlso on the bill: The Working Class.

​Friday, August 9 - Sunday, August 11, 1968: The Bank, 19840 South Hamilton Avenue, Torrance, Los Angeles County, CaliforniaAlso on the bill: Pacific Gas And Electric, Illinois Speed Press, Freedom Highway. Super Sound + Lights. Friday and Saturday shows started at 8:30pm, while the Sunday show was a Sunday Special with films and added groups which started at 3pm.

Los Angeles Free Press (August 9, 1968)

Friday, August 16, 1968: 'West Pole', KQED (Channel 9) TV, KQED Studios, 2601 Mariposa Street, Mission District, San Francisco, California (broadcast date)Hosted and narrated by Ralph J. Gleason, West Pole was a television essay on the San Francisco adult rock sound which featured live in-studio performances by The Sons Of Champlin ('Freedom') and The Ace Of Cups, plus trippy psychedelic music videos featured The Steve Miller Band, Jefferson Airplane, The Grateful Dead, and Quicksilver Messenger Service. The show was broadcasted on August 16 at 10:00pm, and again on August 18 at 9:00pm. Later in 2008 it was released on the Various Artists' DVD: 'Go Ride The Music & West Pole' (Eagle Vision, EV 30181-9).

Friday, August 30 - Sunday, September 1, 1968: Fillmore West, 10 South Van Ness Avenue at 1545 Market Street, San Francisco, CaliforniaThe band was misspelled as 'Sons Of Champlan' on the poster printed for these shows. Also on the bill: Grateful Dead, Preservation Hall Jazz Band. Lights by Holy See. These shows, which started at 8:30pm (or 9:00pm) each day, were promoted by Bill Graham Presents In San Francisco.

Monday, September 9, 1968: Avalon Ballroom, 1268 Sutter Street at Van Ness Street, Polk Gulch, San Francisco, CaliforniaAlso on the bill: The Steve Miller Band. The show was promoted by Family Dog Presents.

Friday, ​September 20 - Saturday, September 21, 1968 The Bank, 19840 South Hamilton Avenue, Torrance, Los Angeles County, CaliforniaAlso on the bill: Quicksilver Messenger Service (20-21), Love Exchange (20), Ace Of Cups (21). One show a day, started at 8:30pm. ​

Friday, September 27 - Sunday, September 29, 1968: Avalon Ballroom, 1268 Sutter Street at Van Ness Street, Polk Gulch, San Francisco, CaliforniaAlso on the bill: Flatt & Scruggs, Jack Elliott, Country Weather. Lights by Abrams Headlights. These shows, which lasted from 9:00pm to 2:00am each day, were promoted by Family Dog Presents.

San Francisco Express Times (September 25, 1968)

The Stanford Daily (October 4, 1968)

​Fall 1968: 'School Dance', Sir Francis Drake High School, 1327 Sir Francis Drake Boulevard, San Anselmo, Marin County, California​October 1968: Golden State Recorders, 665 Harrison Street, San Francisco, CaliforniaThe Sons Of Champlin were approched by Capitol Records. The label was interested to sign the band, but "before the contract was even signed, the band wanted a concession from Capitol," Charlie Kelly recalls. "How about letting us make a free record, that we would send to whoever asked?" Capitol said they would do it, so the Sons entered Golden State Recorders, an eight track studio founded by the late record producer and recording engineer Leo De Gar Kulka in 1964, and recorded a new song written by Tim Cain and titled 'Jesus Is Coming'. "Despite the almost fundamentalist tone of the song, no one who saw the band would mistake them for Bible belt churchgoers," Charlie adds. "Jesus Is Coming was written by Tim Cain, who added a very spiritual philosophy to the band. It sings like a gospel hymn, with a touch of baroque organ. The song was done in a couple of studio days, one for basic tracks and one for overdubbed vocals and solos, with Tim singing the lead." "Tim came in with new song he was writing about Jesus and we really flashed and said, 'Hey, let's go in and record it, and we'll give it away free to the radio stations'," Fred Roth confirms in an interview with Jeff Jaisun for the Berkeley Barb newspaper on April 18, 1969.

Friday, October 11 - Saturday, October 12, 1968: New Orleans House, 1505 San Pablo Avenue, Berkeley, Alameda County, CaliforniaAlso on the bill: Congress Of Wonders. ​

Wednesday, October 16, 1968: Mendocino State Hospital, Talmage, Ukiah Valley, Mendocino County, CaliforniaThe Sons Of Champlin played at a special dance for the patients at Mendocino State Hospital as part of the weeklong nationwide drug abuse education project program designed for educators from all over the United States, and supported by the National Institute for Mental Health.

Thursday, October 31, 1968: Monte Vista High School, 3131 Stone Valley Road, Danville, San Ramon Valley, Contra Costa County, CaliforniaAlso on the bill: Spyders. The show, from 7:00pm to 11:00pm, was promoted by The Valley Youth Council presents.

Thursday, November 7 - Saturday, November 9 or Thursday, November 14 - Saturday, November 16, 1968: The New Committee Theatre, 836 Montgomery Street, North Beach, San Francisco, California​These shows, which lasted from 9pm to 4am, were promoted by Thunderpig Productions.

November 1968 (?)Jim Beem was temporarily forced to quit The Sons Of Champlin. "The big recording session [for the debut album] was in a few weeks, and he went around the bend," Charlie Kelly recalls. "At a gig he went catatonic, just standing and staring, and he pissed in his pants. Most accounts of this call it some kind of acid burnout, and while that's possible, I think there was more to it than that. Jim had certainly taken acid, and this was a culture that often considered LSD the best cure for whatever ails you. Jim was very depressed, and tried to keep it together, but he was losing ground. He showed up at my little two-room flat in Larkspur at about six one morning. This was a long way from his house in Fairfax, and he wanted to talk. Actually, he wanted to walk and talk. And he wanted to hold my hand while we walked a couple of miles through town and up Madrone Canyon. I let him do it, because he was a brother, and he was troubled, but I don't know if I helped him. It was uncomfortable to be strolling the streets of my town holding hands with another man. After a couple of embarrassing gigs, it was obvious that Jim couldn't play on the recording session. This was a problem because all the horn arrangements assumed that a trumpet was included. Bill learned to fill some of the trumpet parts on the organ, and that would have to do." "Jim went home to visit his parents in Illinois and tried to talk to them while on acid," Fred Roth adds in an interview with Jeff Jaisun for the Berkeley Barb newspaper on April 18, 1969. "His parents freaked and had him committed. He got the shit beat out of him by a guard at the institution because he knew more than they did and it was blowing their minds. He went through shock treatments and all that bullshit before he could finally get out of there."

Friday, December 13 - Sunday, December 15, 1968: Poppycock, 135 University Avenue at High Street, Palo Alto, Santa Cruz County, California Also on the bill: A.B.Skhy (15). One show each day, started at 9:00pm (Friday and Saturday) and at 6:30pm (Sunday). ​December 1968: Golden State Recorders, 665 Harrison Street, San Francisco, CaliforniaThe Sons Of Champlin signed with Capitol Records. Written into the contract along with the generally accepted clauses was a first for any recording agreement anywhere, a special "gift" to the Sons of $5,000 for every hundred sales. "We wanted to prove to them that we could help them, but that they also had to help us," Fred Roth recalls in an interview with Jeff Jaisun for the Berkeley Barb newspaper on April 18, 1969. "We get that five grand for use in turning on our community in any way we want. If we're gonna become a part of the straight world, which is where you're really at with contracts, they have to become a part of us." "If I spent that $5,000 on acid and got busted I'd tell them who paid for it - Capitol Records," Fred adds. Anyway, right after signing the contract, the Sons went into the studio and spent a phenomenally low 40 hours recording their debut double album, Loosen Up Naturally (no side musicians were used on any of the eleven tracks). "The contract was signed after 'Jesus is Coming' and that winter the band went in the studio," Charlie Kelly confirms. "It took a day or so to arrange the band, work out balances, and get comfortable with the entirely different feel of studio recording from practicing or performing. Bill Bowen didn't like the fact that the bass speaker wasn't two feet behind him, and he didn't like the isolation of playing in the baffled 'drum cage.' A headset is hardly a replacement for a Fender Dual Showman. Finally things were as good as they were going to get, and it was time to do some basic tracks." "The first song was so new that it didn't have a title," Charlie continues. "They had just worked it out in the practice hall, and they hadn't yet performed it. When they were about to begin, Leo asked over the talkback what the name of the song was. No one had an answer, so in order to give him something to call it, Leo noted the index number of the tape box. Over the talkback he slated the song, '1982-A, take one.' He had named the first song on the album. The recording session took place in several segments, overseen by Bruce Walford and Dave Schallock as well as Bill and Tim. First was a week or so of laying down basic tracks, then a few days of overdubs, then mixing. Once everything was set up, basics went down quickly. One song, 'Don't Fight It, Do It,' was the first take. The band pulled it off perfectly on the first try, and came in to listen to a playback. Dave and Bruce loved it right away. After the playback, Leo asked the band if they were ready to lay down another one. Some of the guys looked hurt. 'What was wrong with that one?' they asked. Leo didn't know a good take from a bad one of a song he had never heard, but he assumed that no one used the first take . They went out and put down a couple more, then called it off and moved to another song. Fifteen minutes, one take, what's next? The absence of the trumpet is most obvious in the openings of 'Freedom,' and 'Get High,' both of which were originally arranged as a three-part interplay between alto and tenor saxes, and the trumpet. Bill played the trumpet part on the B-3, which lost the balance of the section. Basic tracks went down for the first week, and then it was time for overdubs. Once the rhythm section equipment was put away and the studio set up for dubs, some of the problems with basic tracks showed up. There is a tempo change in 'Everywhere,' and Terry's rhythm guitar part drags in the first part of 'Freedom.' By this time though, you have to live with what you have. For the guitar overdubs a Twin Reverb with a high frequency horn as an extension speaker was turned up to ten and put in the small sound-insulated room usually used for vocal overdubs. Nothing in that room with warm blood would live after that amp cut loose, so the guitar cord was strung under the mostly soundproofed door and the player did his thing out in the main studio. With the guitar isolated from the amp, there was no feedback, and the player could listen to it as loud or as little as he wanted over the monitors or headphones as he soloed along with the basic track. Customarily it's done while listening on headphones, but Terry liked the ambience of loud music, so he sat between a pair of big studio monitors listening to the playback REAL LOUD while he did his dubs. Terry's solo on 'Things are Getting Better' is one of the best he ever recorded, although the song is somewhat forgotten, last on the third side. Bill's guitar solo on 'Don't fight It, Do It' is a great one, but it almost didn't happen. He did a good one, and came in for a listen. 'Pretty good,' everyone agreed. 'No, one more.' 'Okay.' With only eight tracks to work with, you didn't have the option of saving one to see if the next one would be better, you had to record over the previous take. Then Bill went out and did the one that was used on the record, and it was obvious that this was the take, and it couldn't get much better. Bill added baritone sax to 'Everywhere,' and 'Freedom.' Tim doubled his sax solo on 'Rooftop' and did his 'Freedom' and 'Get High' solos. Geoffrey added a keyboard solo to 'Black and Blue Rainbow,' and played two tracks of vibes and tabla on 'Get High.' Bill did his keyboard solos. Then on to the vocals. The most entertaining was 'Don't Fight It, Do It.' Jim Beem had helped write the song, and had originally sung it with Tim, but for the record the duet was Bill and Tim. Things didn't go quite right, and the vocal went to several takes. Finally, Tim's voice cracked, and he could only hit his notes with a screechy squawk. The tape was still rolling, so when the second verse came around, he switched to a lower octave. This took Bill by surprise, and he started laughing, with a live mike. Now they started hamming it up, because they figured the take was blown, and they'd be rolling back for another take in just a few seconds. At the end of the vocals, Tim squawked into the mike, and even though it wasn't a very loud sound, it was close to the mike, and it could be mixed as loud as necessary to sound like a loud scream. In the final mix it was as necessary and panned from side to side, a luxury of eight-track recording. Laughing, Bill said, 'Oooh, terrible.' Leo kept the tape rolling, because Bill sang the last part of the song alone, and he might as well do it now as some other time. The two vocal sections were separated by a long guitar solo, and it would be easy to "drop in" to do the first part again. Bill finished the song, and the singers came in for a playback. 'We're going to have to do that again.' 'Let's listen to what we have.' On the playback, it was still funny, and the segue, even with the 'Terrible,' into the guitar solo was perfect. Tim wasn't going to do any better that night, so they kept it. For the scat section of 'Freedom,' Bill used a live mike during the recording of the basic track, so he could interplay with the sax, and cue the rest of the band when to come in at the end of the scat. The section had started life with words, but they weren't Bill's, they were Rob Moitoza's chant: 'Show me the way to get to Soulville, Show me the way to get home. Show me the way to get to Soulville, Because that's where we belong.' Bill didn't want to steal Rob's lyric for the record, so he dropped all the words and switched to a straight scat solo based on the same phrasing. This section turned out to be a problem because he didn't like the track he did live and he wanted to do it again in an overdub. The drum track and the sax tracks had to continue through that section, and there was enough leakage into those mikes that the original scat couldn't be erased completely. Behind the overdubbed scat a tinny, tiny voice mimics it, but not exactly right, like a little bee. In the live version, Bill could 'call and answer' with Tim on sax, Tim playing the scat phrase after Bill made it up. With no reference points, Bill didn't know when he should do the call, and as a result, he echoed the lick after Tim's lick on the basic track, a sort of reverse answer and call. The other thing was, he gave the vocal cue when the scat was over, and he couldn't listen to the original track to hear himself give the cue for the rest of the band to jump in. It almost took him by surprise at the end of his scat solo. There is a tape splice at the end of the scat, and it was a little tight. Splices are usually done on the beat, because by rocking the tape over the playback head the engineer can precisely identify where the cut is made by the drumbeat. In this case the time is close enough, but one drum beat got shortchanged and has no pop. It just happens to be the 'one' in the measure between the vocal and the entrance of the band, which became strangely limp compared to the live version. The vocal for 'Get High' was the last one recorded that evening. It was 2:00 a.m., and Bill was whipped. His singing is a little flat through the song, but it was a case of there not being enough gas left in the tank for another go at such a long song. For the choral bit at the end of the vibes solo, everyone who was in the studio, except Leo, came out of the control room to sing. Bill, Tim, Terry, Geoff, Dave Schallock and Bruce Walford and me. Someone passed a joint around the microphone, and Dave took a hit close enough to get it on the record. Bill sang the first line alone, and as the rest of the choir chipped in, I tried to find an appropriate part and not embarrass myself. I had some bells hung on my beltloop for no other reason than it was 1968 and people did things like that. Someone jingled them, and they're on the record. The singing got louder and louder and it was harder not to do it right with everyone shouting around the mike and Geoff shaking a tambourine and then the crescendo was over, and Bill sang the rest of the song and we were out of there for the night. There were more problems with Loosen Up Naturally after it was recorded than there were during the session. Mixing was an adventure: Bill, Tim, Bruce Walford and Dave Schallock were the hands on people, with Leo attempting to retain control of the board. 'Just tell me what you want adjusted, okay?' Everyone else who was there offered encouragement and advice constantly. In other words, it was just like any other band activity. The amount of music on the album turned out to be a problem. It had been so easy to lay down all these long tunes, because they had practiced most of them for a long time. All the music came from the two sets they had been in the habit of playing at the Avalon, or any other two-set venue. It was the best stuff they had, and it music crafted for performance, not recording. The object was to get people on their feet early, and keep them there as long as possible. The first set opened with 'Thing To Do,' and closed with 'Get High.' The second set opened with a tune like 'Everywhere' and ended with 'Freedom.' No prisoners, and no ballads. Mostly four/four. The album, like the sets the Sons played then, grabbed you by the neck and shook you until they were done. Every song was too long, the shortest at well over three minutes and the longest, at fifteen minutes, a whole side of an album. How many of these tunes could you pack on an album? They wanted them all. Eventually Capitol made the unusual concession of releasing a double album as the band's debut. In the trades the ad read, 'So much to say, it took a double album to say it!' And then there were a few other problems like cover art, songwriting credit, and so on. Capitol was not prepared for a band that said, oh yeah, we'll do the cover ourselves. What are art departments for? By this time, after the 'Jesus is Coming' episode, they must have realized that they were not dealing with anything they had seen before."

Late December 1968The Sons Of Champlin's second (promo) single, 'Jesus Is Coming, Part I / Jesus Is Coming, Part II' (Capitol SPRO-4667/4668), was pressed and distributed locally for free around Christmas. "The song didn’t fit on the double album, so we decided to give it away for free since it was about Jesus and giving anyway," author Tim Cain recalls. "At about eight minutes [the song] was too long for one side," Charlie Kelly also recalls, "and when it was released, it was split in the middle and put on both sides. This was an artistic disaster, since the song faded on one side just before it started to build to a climax. The listener had to flip it over and kind of imagine that the song hadn't stopped while that was being done." The single had gotten a little bit of airplay on KSAN-FM, a local radio station, and anyone who wrote and asked for it received the single for free. "One night I was on the radio and I was pretty stoned, and the dj asked me how people could get a copy of Jesus and I said 'oh, just write to us'," Fred Roth confirms in an interview with Jeff Jaisun for the for the Berkeley Barb newspaper on April 18, 1969. "Then the letters started pouring in, I had to go back to Capitol and say, 'hey guess what? I fucked up.' They took it really well and went right along with the trip. They just got caught in the 'Sons of Champlin rush'. That's what it was; a stoned out rush. And when it was completed Capitol just had to dig it." "The offer of the free record resulted in about 800 copies being mailed out at Capitol's expense [an estimated ten thousand dollars]," Charlie adds. ​Friday, January 10 - Saturday January 11, 1969: The Matrix, 3138 Fillmore Street, Marina District, San Francisco, CaliforniaAlso on the bill: Ace Of Cups (cancelled?). One show each day, from 9:00pm to 2:00am.

Wednesday, January 15 - Saturday, January 18, 1969: New Orleans House, 1505 San Pablo Avenue, Berkeley, Alameda County, CaliforniaAlso on the bill: Notes From The Underground (17-18).

Berkeley Barb ad (January 10, 1969)

Berkeley Barb (January 17, 1969)

Thursday, January 16, 1969: 'Support The Oakland 7! Benefit Rock Dance', Pauley Ballroom, Student Union Building, UC Berkeley (University of California at Berkeley) campus, 2475 Bancroft Way at Sather Road, Berkeley, Alameda County, CaliforniaThis concert, which started at 8:00pm and was sponsored by Stop The Draft Week Defense Committee, was a benefit for the so-called 'Oakland 7', a group of anti-Vietnam War activists arrested for allegedly conspiring to organize an illegal demostration in October 1967 (they were acquitted in March 1969). Also on the bill: Other Half, Mad River, Steve Miller Band, Mint Tattoo, Frumious Bandersnatch, Allmen Joy, Little John, The Lamb, Cleanliness and Godliness Skiffle Band, Chet Helms (MC). Lights by Optics Illusion.​

Bill Champlin at the Pauley Ballroom, January 16, 1969

Berkeley Barb (January 10, 1969)

Berkeley Barb ad (January 10, 1969)

San Francisco Express Times (Jnauary 14, 1969)

​​Friday, January 24 - Sunday, January 26, 1969: Avalon Ballroom, 1268 Sutter Street at Van Ness Street, Polk Gulch, San Francisco, CaliforniaAlso on the bill: Grateful Dead, Initial Shock. Lights by Garden of Delights. One show each day, started at 9:00pm. Since Chet Helms and the Family Dog had vacated, the Avalon was now being booked by an organization called Sound Proof, which was connected to the group Initial Shock, and was founded by former Family Dog employees Bob Simmons and Gary Scanlon.

​Friday, January 31 - Saturday, February 1, 1969: 'A Medieval Happening', Longshoremen's Hall, 400 North Point, Fisherman's Wharf, San Francisco, CaliforniaAlso on the bill: Steve Miller Band, Sir Douglas Quintet. Lights by Garden Of Delights. These shows, which lasted from 8:30pm to 1:00am each day, were presented by Aquarius Productions. Renaissance Faires had started to become popular events, and the one in Marin County was among the first. This event was a sort of indoor "pseudo-Renaissance Faire." An eyewitness reported that the Duck's Breath Mystery Theater comedy troupe performed between sets.

​Sunday, February 16, 1969: Speedway Meadow, Golden Gate Park, 25th Avenue at Fulton Street, San Francisco, CaliforniaAn afternoon free outdoor concert which lasted from 12 noon to 5:00pm and that was promoted by The 13th Tribe Presents. Also on the bill: Morning Glory, Allmen Joy, Initial Shock, Last Mile.

Thursday, February 20 - Sunday, February 23, 1969: Fillmore West, 10 South Van Ness Avenue at 1545 Market Street, San Francisco, CaliforniaThe Sons Of Champlin filled in for The Move who were originally billed on the poster printed for these shows. Also on the bill: Albert King, Cold Blood. Lights by Little Princess 109. These shows, which started at 8:30pm each day, were promoted hy Bill Graham Presents in San Francisco.

Sunday, February 23, 1969: Speedway Meadow, Golden Gate Park, 25th Avenue at Fulton Street, San Francisco, CaliforniaAn afternoon free outdoor concert which lasted from 12 noon to 5:00pm and that was promoted by The 13th Tribe Presents. Also on the bill: Morning Glory, Allmen Joy, Initial Shock, Last Mile.

Friday, February 28 - Saturday, March 1, 1969: Poppycock, 135 University Avenue at High Street, Palo Alto, Santa Cruz County, CaliforniaThe opening act was a local heavy rock trio called Boogie which included The Sons' future drummer 'Fuzzy John' Oxendine. One show each day, started at 9:00pm. Sunday, March 2, 1969: Speedway Meadow, Golden Gate Park, 25th Avenue at Fulton Street, San Francisco, CaliforniaAn afternoon free outdoor concert which lasted from 12 noon to 5:00pm and that was promoted by The 13th Tribe Presents. Also on the bill: Morning Glory, Allmen Joy, Initial Shock, Last Mile.

Tuesday, March 4, 1969: Auditorium, Abraham Lincoln High School, 2162 24th Avenue, San Francisco, CaliforniaThe Sons Of Champlin, along with The Ace Of Cups, played a benefit (two shows, starting at 12 noon) for a Brotherhood/Sisterhood Assembly rally due to the recent racial tensions and events. It was organized with the primary help of the school's popular teacher Mr. Yates, and was sponsored by Radio Kool, the school's radio station.

Saturday, March 8, 1969: Peterson Gymnasiun, San Diego State College campus, San Diego, CaliforniaAlso on the bill: Paul Butterfield Blues Band, Taj Mahal, Framework. Lights by Spark Naked. One show, started at 8:00pm. ​

Monday, March 17, 1969: 'Monster Jam Benefit for Olompali', Winterland, 2000 Post Street at Steiner Street, San Francisco, CaliforniaThe show, from 8:30pm to 1:00am, was sponsored by the Deja Vu Foundation, Inc., in association with Crinkle Productions. Also on the bill: Jefferson Airplane, Grateful Dead, Red Mountain. Lights by Garden Of Delights, and Jerry Abrams & Glen McKay's Headlights. This was a Monday night benefit for residents of the Chosen Family commune at Rancho Olompali, homeless and broke after a fire and a drug bust. A Berkeley Barb article suggested that the Grateful Dead and Jefferson Airplane were expected to show up, and the Winterland venue suggests that this was not idle speculation. Since we have no other information, its possible that it featured some sort of Mickey and The Hartbeats configuration rather than the full Grateful Dead, but its definitely on the calendar.​

Berkeley Barb (March 14, 1969)

San Francisco Chronicle (March 17, 1969)

​Friday, March 21 - Sunday, March 23, 1969: Avalon Ballroom, 1268 Sutter Street at Van Ness Street, Polk Gulch, San Francisco, CaliforniaAlso on the bill: Santana, Dancing Food & Entertainment. Lights by Jerry Abrams' Headlights. These shows, which started at 8:30pm each day, were promoted by Sound Proop Productions Presents. Parts of an FM broadcast survive from March 23. To my knowledge, this broadcast (I believe from KPFA) is the best circulating document of the early Sons' sound. Besides their first album material, they do a funky but faithful cover of Fats Domino's 'Blueberry Hill.'​

​Friday, March 28, 1969: Santa Rosa Veterans Memorial Auditorium, 1351 Maple Avenue, Santa Rosa, Sonoma County, California Also on the bill: West, Womb, Rich Ross. The show, which started at 8:00pm, was presented by The Ninth Circle.

Saturday, March 29, 1969: New Orleans House, 1505 San Pablo Avenue, Berkeley, Alameda County, CaliforniaAlso on the bill: Ace Of Cups. ​

Late March 1969The Sons Of Champlin's debut double album, 'Loosen Up Naturally' (Capitol SWBB-200; Side A: '1. 1982-A / 2. The Thing To Do / 3. Misery Isn't Free / 4. Rooftop - Side B: '1. Everywhere / 2. Don't Fight It, Do It! / 3. Get High - Side C: '1. Black And Blue Rainbow / 2. Hello Sunlight / 3. Things Are Gettin' Better - Side D: 1. Freedom'), was released in the US. On the very first day, however, all 100,000 issues had to be called back. "The first day," Fred Roth explains in an interview with Jeff Jaisun for the Berkeley Barb newspaper on April 18, 1969, "this thirteen year old kid in Atlanta claimed he found the word 'fucking' on the album cover. A section of cartooned sign posts was reported to have contained a scrawling which changed the phrase 'Big Deal' into 'Big Fucking Deal.' So now here is living proof of the Big Fucking Deal. Capitol is PAYING a bunch of people to cross out fucking 200,000 times (it's on both sides of the lp) with a felt tip pen. They can't even get the cellophane off before they're flashed!" "Many of the people around the Sons were artists of various types. Many more thought they were. The cover art was the result of giving anyone who wanted to work on it the opportunity of helping with the album cover," Charlie Kelly also explains. "At Fred's house there were large square sheets of paper and art supplies at hand, and on any afternoon there might be two or three people sitting on opposite sides of a sheet, covering it with imagination. As sheets were filled, they joined a stack of similar sheets waiting to be sorted through for the cover picture. At the house in Forest Knolls which Geoff Palmer and Bob Cain shared with two girls, a similar work was taking place on the windowshade. One day, I am told, Bob and Geoff met the Baker sisters Wendy and Patty. Smitten with the beautiful ladies, they brought them home, which incurred some displeasure on the part of one of the resident ladies. She left, and on her way out the door she added one word to the work in progress. She wrote it so small that it went unnoticed for some time. This of course was the main album cover, and if the censors caught the offending word, at least they missed the abstract gynecologist's eye view in the upper right quadrant. There are a number of small messages buried in the drawing. On the left knee of the gynecologist's patient is a Band-Aid and the message, 'We try with a little help from HAL.' The arrow points to a computer generated drawing, and HAL is the name of the computer in Stanley Kubrick's 2001: A Space Odyssey. On our first trip to Hollywood, we had all seen the film at the Cinerama Theater a few blocks from the Kaleidoscope Ballroom. There is a recognizable Fred Roth next to the phrase 'Desi in the sky with polio.' This seems to be a vague reference to Tim, and even now people refer to him as 'Desi' as though it was some secret band nickname. It wasn't. A few phrases are almost trite: 'Brothers and Sisters,' 'Music is Fun,' 'Follow the Yellow Brick Road,' 'Love = Music = Love,' 'S.O.C. Marin,' 'Once Upon A Time.' There is a unicorn and an amoeba and a number of eyes looking at various things. The words 'Sons of Champlin' are cropped nearly off the right edge. There is a play on the peace symbol, rendered as an ad for Mercedes Benz. Then of course, there is the Sagittarius and the pointers: 'Big Gunner,' 'Big Sign,' 'Big (fucking) Deal,' 'Levels,' 'Ha Ha.' The addition to Big Deal is in another hand from the original, added later. The inside cover features Dave Schallock's touch. There is a phrase that can't really be deciphered. It's a quote from Albert King, one of Dave's favorite sayings at the time, 'I play the blues myself.' Dave's nickname is written in small letters on it, 'Schalloroma,' and his daughter Nina's name is written above it. There are more phrases, 'Take a toke off the sky,' 'Tune In, Turn On, Space Out,' 'Cliff Hanger,' 'Feel Good and You Will Be,' 'Om is Where the Heart Is,' 'I've been duped,' 'Blowworm,' 'Yes, no, go, go, go,' 'Wonder Chicken,' 'Buy It All,' 'Jesus Came Too!!!' There is a map with Turkey, Salinas, Reba, Ireland and the Port of Rheem. A hitchhiker carries a misspelled sign on his suitcase, 'Highway Crusier.' The lone word, 'Occasinallie' floats by itself. As usual, there are a number of eyes staring out of different areas. The central figure is identified in tiny letters around the brim of the sombrero. It is a child's doodle, a top view of a 'Mexican riding a bicycle.' The other inside cover drawing is a Buddha, drawn by Rikki (***), who met the band in 1967 Denver when she was sixteen and they were on the road for the first time. She sent the art in a letter, and it fit the need, so it was used. I doubt if she was ever compensated for it, although seeing it was probably enough for her. The poem on the inner liner was apparently interpreted by some as a reference to methedrine, since the word 'crystal' appears in it. This was unfortunate, and may have been the reason a Rolling Stone reviewer of the first Santana album linked that group with 'another notorious speed band, the Sons of Champlin.'… Glass swan at the window sill Stretch your wings and fly Cool is morning Eternal are the cascades of creation Clear are the tears of purity So bring to me the fragrance of wet earth Dripping from your crystal beak So fine an odor for my temple… The poem was written by Steve Tobin, my roadie partner. He is also the Steven Tollestrup who gets credit for writing all the songs. This credit is contradicted by the statement on the original disc label, 'All selections composed by B.B. Heavy.' This appears only on the old-style Capitol label with the rainbow around the edge. On later releases with the green label, Steven Tollestrup is given credit there also. Dave Schallock has his name spelled wrong in the producer credits 'Shelleck.' A color reproduction of a drawing came inside the album. At the bottom are the words, 'Give Away.' It's unlikely that many were given away. The drawing is a still life created over a long period of time by a friend of Fred Roth, Albert Saijo. It shows the top of his desk with, among other things, a capsule of LSD in a carved wooden bowl, and a roach in a seashell. The reason for the subterfuge on the writing credits was that members of the band were unsure of the current status of their songwriting contract. There was some speculation that they had signed over some rights with their previous (Trident) contract. The obvious solution, engaging a lawyer to find out, was not the way the Sons of Champlin operated. There was another question. Song royalties can be a big part of the payoff on a successful album. Bill had written all but two of the songs on the record; the exceptions were 'Don't Fight It, Do It,' (Tim and Jim) and 'Hello Sunlight' (Tim). By normal standards, he would get the bulk of the money if the album did well. The rest of the band felt, with some justification, that the songs were a group effort. Certainly Tim's arranging was a big part of the sound, and the longer pieces were fleshed out with lengthy solos. Would 'Get High' be the same song without Geoffrey's vibes solo? Giving Bill all the money would have drawn a line between him and the rest of the group, and they weren't ready for that. Bill agreed that he would share the royalties equally with the rest of the band, and in later years he would point to this as showing how much of himself he had given the group. The name Steven Tollestrup was chosen because Steve Tobin owned it but wasn't using it. He agreed to its use, and could be counted on never to contest the issue of royalties. Like Yogi Phlegm several years later, the 'B.B. Heavy' who gets credit on the original label was a symbolic character. Sometimes he represented the whole band, sometimes just Bill. The album was released, and we waited for it to hit the charts and then we would all get new cars and new amps and new guitars. and then we found out about the bad word on the cover, a time bomb waiting to happen. Apparently some kid with a magnifying glass was inspecting the cover, and found the offending word. Our stock with Capitol dropped like a cold-air balloon. The situation had no precedent for a band or for a record company. Someone at Capitol made the decision to call them all back and pay a couple of bored temps to scratch it off with a sharp point. Capitol did not see itself as responsible, and the cost of the operation came out of the band's share of the record profits, which hadn't yet materialized. That ate up ten or fifteen thousand dollars, or a new truck and new amps. It's not as if we never saw any money from the project, but it never seemed like much." By the way, the album reached #137 on the always unreliable Billboard Top 200 LP charts.

Spring 1969 (?): Native Sons Hall, 11th Street at J Street, Sacramento, California"The band was driving up from the Bay Area and only the rhythm section had arrived by showtime." an eyewitness recalls, "It was guitar, organ, bass and drums and they jammed until the other members arrived."

Tuesday, April 1, 1969: Avenue Theatre, 2650 San Bruno Avenue, San Francisco, California Also on the bill: Phoenix, Freedom Highway. One show, from 9:00pm to 1:00am. Tuesday, April 1 - Saturday, April 5, 1969: 'Messiah's One World Crusade', Straight Theater, 1702 Haight Street at Cole Street, Haight-Ashbury, San Francisco, CaliforniaAlso on the bill: Timothy Leary (canceled), Passion, Marvin Gardens, The Angels Own Band Chorus, Bicycle, Asoke Fakir, Morning Glory, Congress Of Wonders, Rush, Last Mile, Glass Mountain. Some of the bands may have played on some nights, but it is not certain whether the Sons played at all, on any night.

Thursday, April 3, 1969: Pauley Ballroom, Student Union Building, UC Berkeley (University of California at Berkeley) campus, 2475 Bancroft Way at Sather Road, Berkeley, Alameda County, CaliforniaAlso on the bill: Ace Of Cups, Country Weather, Phoenix. One show, from 9:00pm to 1:00am. ​​

Wednesday, April 16, 1969: 'Benefit for Malcolm X College', Cowell/Stevenson Dining Hall, Cowell College campus, UCSC (University of California, Santa Cruz) campus, 520 Cowell-Stevenson Road, Santa Cruz, CaliforniaThe Sons Of Champlin, Ace of Cups, and Phoenix played at a rock-out benefit dance held to raised bread for construction of the new seventh residential college of the University of California, Santa Cruz. Initially students calling themselves the Santa Cruz Black Liberation Front demand that the new College 7 be named in honor of Malcolm X, but when the college was finally opened in 1972 it was actually named Oakes College. One show, started at 8:30pm.

Berkeley Barb (April 11, 1969)

Thursday, April 17 - Sunday, April 20, 1969: Winterland, 2000 Post Street at Steiner Street, San Francisco, CaliforniaAlso on the bill: The Band, Ace Of Cups. Lights by Little Princess 109. These shows, which started at 8:30pm each day, were promoted by Bill Graham Presents In San Francisco. Although the poster printed for these shows advertised only three nights (Thursday to Saturday), a fourth night (Sunday) was added at last minute when ticket sales justified it.

Sunday, April 20, 1969: Civic Center Plaza, 355 McAllister Street, San Francisco, CaliforniaThis was an outdoor free afertoon concert downtown, known from a dated photo by Kenneth Loh. Also on the bill: Ace Of Cups, Freedom Highway.

Wednesday, April 23, 1969: Nourse Auditorium, 275 Hayes Street off Van Ness Avenue, San Francisco, CaliforniaThe Sons Of Champlin played at a benefit throwed by the 13th Tribe to raised funds for sound equipment that they used for their infamous Sunday free concerts at the Speedway Meadow. Also on the bill: Linn County, Mt. Rushmore, Kwane and The Kwan-Ditos, The Last Mile. Lights by Garden of Delights. One show, from 8:30pm to 2:00am. ​

Berkeley Barb (April 18, 1969)

​Friday, April 25 - Saturday, April 26, 1969: 'Opening', The New Dream Bowl, Highway 79, Vallejo, Solano County, CaliforniaAlso on the bill: Rose, Amber Whine. Lights by Deadly Nightshade. One show, from 8:30pm to 2am.

Thursday, May 1, 1969: 'Free Fair Benefit', Berkeley Community Theatre, 1930 Allston Way, Berkeley, Alameda County, California A benefit held by the 13th Tribe for the Free Festival of Lighter Than Air Fairs, which was planned a free fair for Provo Park that June. Also on the bill: Womb, Phoenix, Wilderness, plus films. Lights by Edison Electric Lights. One show, started at 7:30pm.

Berkeley Barb (April 25, 1969)

​Saturday, May 10, 1969: 'Pacific Pop Festival - University of the Pacific Presents For The Benefit Of The Minority Scholarship Fund', Pacific Memorial Stadium, University of the Pacific campus, Stockton, San Joaquin County, CaliforniaAlso on the bill: Santana, Sanpaku, Cold Blood, Elvin Bishop, Country Weather. One show, from 12 noon to 7:00pm.

Thursday, May 15, 1969: 'Gater Benefit', Nourse Auditorium, 275 Hayes Street off Van Ness Avenue, San Francisco, CaliforniaGary Jackson owner of The Matrix held a benefit, which lasted from 7:00pm to 2:00am, to aid The Daily Gater, the San Francisco State College's student newspaper suspended in March by Hayakawa. Also on the bill: Cleanliness and Godliness Skiffle Band, Cold Blood, Country Weather, Something Else, Tree Wizard, A Euphonious Wail, Behemoth, Band X, Larry the Lion from KMPX (MC). Lights by Deadly Nightshade. Sound by Audio Alley.

San Francisco Good Times (May 14, 1969)

The Stanford Daily (May 14, 1969)

Saturday, May 17, 1969: 'Benefit for KPFA (The People's Radio)', Finnish Brotherhood Hall, 1970 Chestnut Street, Berkeley, Alameda County, CaliforniaAlso on the bill: Lazarus, Last Mile, plus Pablo Picasso's "Desire Caught By the Tail". Lights by Optics Illusion. One show, started at 8:30pm.

Friday, May 23 - Sunday, May 25, 1969: 'The Aquarian Family Festival - Free with Love', football practice field near Spartan Stadium, San Jose State College campus, at the corner of East Alma Avenue and Senter Road, San Jose, Santa Clara County, CaliforniaThe Aquarian Family Festival was held at a football practice field across from the Spartan stadium, in the San Jose State College campus, in conjunction with and in contrast to the most famous '2nd Annual Northern California Folk-Rock Festival', which was held that same three days at the Santa Clara County Fairgrounds, less than a mile away. It was presented by Dirt Cheap Productions in co-operation with the Institute For Research and Understanding, The 13th Tribe, The Druid Corporation, the San Jose State Experimental College, and the San Jose Free University. It was a free festival and all the bands played for free. Apparently the organizers simply called every band they knew, and a lot of them showed up. The agreement with the San Jose State College required that people could be present only during the performance of music. Because part of the purpose of the concert was to provide a safe place to stay for tens of thousands of people traveling to town to attend another concert being held in town about a mile away at the Santa Clara County Fairgrounds, music had to be performed continuously from the start at 12 noon on Friday until the close of the festival at 4:00pm on Sunday afternoon. Thus the festival featured 52 hours of continuous music. The crowds were huge, with tens of thousands going in and out every day. The festival was produced in 10 days at a total cost of $968 by approximately 30 people who were volunteers with the Institute for Research and Understanding whose Dirt Cheap Productions unit produced the concert. Assistance was also given by the musicians' cooperative Druid Corporation House and the San Jose Free University. Legal services were paid for by the band Led Zeppelin which did not perform at the festival (they were already booked to perform at the "rival" Northern California Folk-Rock Festival). A specially constructed stage allowed one band to set up while another played. Apparently, bands simply showed up at the site and signed up, like signing up for a tennis court. Besides hippie solidarity, playing a free concert was a good way for a local band in the Bay Area to get known. Somewhere between 20,000 and 80,000 people attended the Festival, and for many of these groups this would have been the biggest crowd they had played for. Also on the bill: Ace of Cups, Womb, Linn County, All Men Joy, Throckmorton, Tree of Life, Weird Herald, Last Mile, Crabs, Gentle Dance, Nymbus, Crow, Divine Madness, Rubber Maze, Birth, Red Grass Green Smoke, Libras, Sable, Greater Carmichael Traveling Street Band, Cleanliness and Godliness Skiffle Band, Glass Mountain, Denver, Beggars Opera, Elgin Marble, Joy of Cooking, Lamb, Frumious Bandersnatch, Mother Ball, Sounds Unlimited Blues Band, Zephyr Grove, Morning Glory, Rising Tide, Old Davis, Mad River, High Country, Sandy Bull, Warren Purcell, Flamin' Groovies, Living Color, Stoned Fox, Rejoice, South Bay Experimental Flash, Mt. Rushmore, Steve Miller Band, Boz Scaggs, Scratch, Jefferson Airplane (25), The Jimi Hendrix Exprience (25; came late and couldn't play). Lights by MU. Master of Cerimonies: Eric 'Big Daddy' Nord, and Norman Lane (former child star of Quiz Kids, a radio and television series of the 1940s and 1950s).

May 2?, 1969The Sons Of Champlin added a 2nd drummer named John Harold Oxendine, aka 'Fuzzy John' (b. Friday, July 19, 1946, San Francisco, California), formerly of Boogie. "Bill Champlin and I were good friends before I joined," Fuzzy John recalls. "Boogie and the Sons practiced at the same facility, the Heliport in Sausalito, and we saw each other 5 days a week." ​

Saturday, May 31, 1969: Masonic Temple, 1119 South West Park Avenue, Portland, Multnomah County, Oregon Also on the bill: Music Box, Portland Zoo.

​June 1969 (?): Wally Heider Studios, 245 Hyde Street, San Francisco, California (uncertain)According to 'Fuzzy John' Oxendine, when he played with the Sons the band did a recording session at Wally Heider Studios in SF. However, Bill Champlin denied this story.

June 1969: Ray Lyman Wilbur Junior High School, 480 East Meadow Drive, Palo Alto, Santa Clara County, CaliforniaLights by Tangle Blue Lights. A soundboard tape recording of this show exist.

Friday, June 6 - Saturday, June 7, 1969: 'A Very Special Dance & Show', The Rose Palace, 835 South Raymond Avenue, Pasadena, Los Angeles County, California The band was misspelled as 'Sons Of Chaplin' on the poster printed for this show. Also on the bill: Joe Cocker, E.T. Hooley. Lights by Jerry Abrams Headlights. The show, which lasted from 7:15pm to 1:00am, was promoted by Scenic Sounds Presents.

Sunday, June 8, 1969: 'Sunday Benefit For The Fellowship Church (aka Benefit for Church of the Fellowship of all Peoples)', First Unitarian Universalist Church & Center, 1187 Franklin Street, San Francisco, CaliforniaOne show, from 2:00pm to 12 midnight, sponsored by The Blue Swan Coffee House. Also on the bill: Phoenix, Bicycle, Dementia, Ace Of Cups, Freedom Highway, Morning Glory, Interplayers Circus, International Press, Freedom, Maximus Erectus, Indian Gold, Mark of Kings, Douglas Waugh, Kevin Gino & Cynthia. Lights by Doctor Zarkov. ​

Berkeley Barb ad (June 6, 1969)

​Saturday, June 14, 1969 (approximate date): The Fun House, South Lake Tahoe, El Dorado County, CaliforniaAlso on the bill: Santana, AB Skhy. The date has been approximated from the Santana timeline. Its not clear if the bill was for one or two nights. Based on the Santana timeline, the show (or shows) was somewhere between June 1 and June 14. Various eyewitnesses (including Charlie Kelly) remember a hot set by Santana, and then the Sons being shut down by the cops because of “suspicious activities.” However, Jim Burgett, who promoted the show, recalls few problems with the police and suspects that any band who was shut down would simply have been running overtime.

​Wednesday, June 18 - Thursday, June 19, 1969: Poppycock, 135 University Avenue at High Street, Palo Alto, Santa Cruz County, California One show each night, started at 9:00pm.

​Friday, June 20 - Sunday, June 22, 1969: Family Dog On The Great Highway, Playland Amusement Park, 660 Great Highway, Ocean Beach, San Francisco, California Also on the bill: Elvin Bishop, Congress Of Wonders. These shows, which started at 8:30pm each day, were promoted by Family Dog Presents.

San Mateo The Times (June 10, 1969)

​​​Sunday, June 29, 1969: St. Elizabeth High School, 1530 34th Avenue, Oakland, Alameda County, CaliforniaAlso on the bill: Little John Band, Post Raisin Band. The show, from 8:30pm to 11:00pm, was a benefit for one Chris Cormier, who was apparently part of the staff at St. Elizabeth, a private high school in Oakland.

Oakland Tribune (June 28, 1969)

July ?, 1969The Sons Of Champlin drove to Oregon where they were booked to play a couple of gigs over the Fourth of July weekend, without their 2nd drummer 'Fuzzy John' Oxendine who decided to stay at home (he subsequently left the band and went on to play with The Rhythm Dukes). "I did not want to go on the road in cars and trucks," Fuzzy John recalls, "because there was a lot of strife within the group and I had also a pregnant wife, so I was going to deliver my son at home so I had to stay at home for a couple of weeks because you can't predict what day he was supposed to arrive over the Fourth of July weekend, so I took time off." "As I say I was home for my son's birth," Fuzzy John adds, "and as I spent those quiet days, I was thinking this was bliss and when I thought of the band it was a lot of turmoil. I was not exactly happy with the situation. They would not have asked me to join if they were satisfied with what they had." The Sons' "main" drummer Bill Bowen was not exactly happy with the situation too. "Fuzzy was aware that Bill hated the whole thing so the vibes weren't that good," Bill Champlin confirms. "I really loved him in the band but Bowen was freaking and the band finally voted to go back to the one drummer situation. Kind of the beginning of the end for me. We did a gig, at Chet's Family Dog at the beach, with the 2 drummers and it was absolutely great, for the time. Guy's ego couldn't take it. I needed groove and Fuzzy has always grooved hard. My songs were better with him playing them. My material needed to feel like R&B and it didn't with the basic rhythm section."

​July ??-??, 1969: Studio A and/or B, Capitol Studios, Capitol Records Building (aka Capitol Records Tower), 1750 Vine Street, Hollywood, Los Angeles, CaliforniaThe Sons Of Champlin recorded their second album, The Sons. "This time Capitol didn't want to take any more chances with a band that was barely on the reservation. This album would be recorded at the Capitol building in Hollywood, under the watchful eye of John Palladino," Charlie Kelly recalls. "By this time Jim Beem had pulled it together enough to be back playing with the band, but he was shaky, and wouldn't last much longer after the session." "The first album had been composed of tunes the band had performed for as much as two years. Suddenly they found they had to come up with another album's worth in six months. It wasn't as easy as the first time," Charlie continues. "There is not nearly the polish on the songs that there was on the first album, because some were being written and performed for the first time in the studio. In an attempt to modify the relentless uptempo of Loosen Up Naturally, they tried a few ballads and gentle passages in some of the uptempo tunes. On The Sons, Terry and Geoff each got tunes, which they sang, Tim got two tunes and a lead vocal on another. Bill got three tunes. The credits were 'All selections composed by The Sons,' but anyone familiar with the players will quickly identify 'Love of a Woman,' 'Boomp-Boomp Chop,' and 'You Can Fly' (assist from Tim) as Bill's songs, 'It's Time,' and 'Why Do People Run From the Rain' as Tim's, 'Country Girl' as Geoff, and of course Terry on 'Terry's Tune.' Terry and Geoff sang their own tunes, and it was obvious why Bill was the lead singer. No amount of studio wizardry was going to give them the presence of the R&B shouter that Bill was. When it came time to perform these tunes without studio assistance, the contrast was even greater, and Country Girl was only performed a few times. In contrast to the first album, I don't remember much about the session. I probably didn't go in every day, and most of the guys were bored with hanging out in Hollywood, especially after the basics were done and all anybody had to do was wait for his day to overdub. Al and Bill Bowen didn't even have that to look forward to. When it came time for overdubs, there was a little bit of head tripping going on. Terry has no searing solos on the record, although he was scheduled for two. On the day he was to overdub them, he was having a hard time getting into the spirit. His solo on 'It's Time,' is lifeless and almost perfunctory, and the great guitar sound from the first album isn't there. He had the solo in 'You Can Fly,' but he walked out of the studio in frustration when it was time to do it. Producer John Palladino was used to Hollywood studio musicians who came in with no emotional baggage, did the job on the first or second take, and then left; this was new to him, and there was a lot of pressure to keep things moving. Bill went in and laid down the guitar solo track himself, even though he played organ on the song in performance. One legacy of the album was the code knock that would open any locked dressing room door to members of the band. It came from the riff, 'Why don't you open the door!' from 'You Can Fly.' Knockknockknockknock...knock. This lasted long after the song was dropped, and replaced the old code phrase, 'Tuning the bass.' Jefferson Airplane was recording their album 'Volunteers' at the same time, and they stopped over to check out the Sons' progress. Some of the Sons went over to their session, and although they generally looked down on the Airplane musically, they came back raving about how good their album sounded." ​​Sunday, July 27, 1969: 'An Afternoon Of Fancy, Food And Frolic', Balboa Stadium, 1405 Park Boulevard, San Diego, California Also on the bill: Jefferson Airplane, Ten Years After, Congress Of Wonders, plus A Splendiferous Trade Faire Succulent Edibles. The show, which started at 1:00pm, was promoted by KPRI And Hedgecock Piering Presents.

​Monday, July 28, 1969: Griffith Park, 4730 Crystal Spring Drive, Santa Monica Mountains, Los Feliz, Los Angeles, CaliforniaAn afternoon free outdoor concert attended by the LAPD in full riot gear. Also on the bill: Jefferson Airplane, Ace Of Cups. "After the basics [of The Sons' second album] were laid down and our equipment was available to use again, we did a free concert in Griffith Park with the Airplane and The Ace of Cups," Charlie Kelly confirms. "It was a typical park gig, and there were a couple of thousand hippies hanging out on the grass, doing hippie hang-out stuff. After a while the LAPD gave a demonstration of who controlled what in Griffith Park, lining up in riot gear with batons along one side of the field, perhaps two dozen officers looking for anyone smoking a joint. Nothing was going on, certainly no riot, and there wasn't any physical confrontation between the two groups while the music went on, but the mood was not nearly as carefree as it might have been. All the bands asked the crowd not to do anything which could trigger trouble. We had a first experience with the hard-core L.A. groupie scene. A couple of girls came to the stage and represented themselves as the Plaster Casters. Whether they were the ones with graphic models of Jimi Hendrix and other rockers' private parts was an open question, but their approach was interesting. An extremely foxy girl came up to Bill Bowen and broached the subject. He looked at her and was considering his response when Girl Number One introduced Girl Number Two, who was the actual Casting member. Girl Number Two was Coyote Ugly, and was not going to meet many rock stars without someone like Girl Number One running interference. Bowen declined immediately."​Summer 1969: Andrews Park, 614 East Monte Vista Avenue, Vacaville, Solano County, CaliforniaA free outdoor concert presented by The Sun Company, a group of high school kids that produced some local shows that summer.

​Friday, August 1 - Sunday, August 3, 1969: Fillmore West, 10 South Van Ness Avenue at 1545 Market Street, San Francisco, CaliforniaAlso on the bill: Everly Brothers, Frumious Bandersnatch (filled in for Baby Huey And The Baby Sitters). Lights by Little Princess 109. These shows, which started at 8:30pm each day, were promoted by Bill Graham Presents In San Francisco.

​Friday, August 8 - Saturday, August 9, 1969: New Orleans House, 1505 San Pablo Avenue, Berkeley, Alameda County, CaliforniaAlso on the bill: South Bay Experimental Flash. One show a day, started at 9:00pm.

Sunday, August 10, 1969: Rio Theatre, 140 Parker Avenue, Rodeo, Contra Costa County, CaliforniaJerry Garcia of The Grateful Dead sat-in with the Sons tonight. Also on the bill: South Bay Experimental Flash.

Saturday, August 16, 1969: Gymnasium, Monterey Peninsula College, 980 Fremont Street, Monterey, California The band was misspelled as 'Sons Of Champlain' on the poster printed for this show. One show, started at 9:00pm. Also on the bill: It's A Beautiful Day, Country Weather, Catharsis. Lights by Deadly Nightshade.

​Saturday, August 23, 1969: 'Benefit for Wild West Festival', Family Dog On The Great Highway, Playland Amusement Park, 660 Great Highway, Ocean Beach, San Francisco, California Also on the bill: Quicksilver Messenger Service, Jimmy Whiterspoon, Anonymous Artists Of America, Commander Cody and His Lost Planet Airmen. According to the late San Francisco Chronicle columnist Ralph J. Gleason, the Sons backed Jimmy Witherspoon for 'Stormy Monday', presumably among other tunes.​

San Francisco Chronicle (August 25, 1969)

​Sunday, August 24, 1969: 'Benefit for Wild West Festival', Fillmore West, 10 South Van Ness Avenue at 1545 Market Street, San Francisco, CaliforniaAlso on the bill: Country Joe and The Fish, It's A Beautiful Day. Lights by Brotherhood of Light.

Wednesday, August 27, 1969: 'Benefit for SDS Legal Defense & BSU Book Fund', Gymnasium, College of Marin, 835 College Avenue, Kentfield, Marin County, CaliforniaAlso on the bill: Loading Zone, Phoenix (canceled), Freedom Highway, Circus, Clover, Kastahana. Lights by Jerry Abrams Headights. The show, from 7:00pm to 2:00am, was sponsored by the Black Students Union. Friday, August 29, 1969: The Eugene Armory, 125 East 7th Street, Eugene, Lane County, OregonAlso on the bill: The Searchin' Soul Blues Band. The show, which started at 8:30pm, was promoted by B.C. Productions Presents. ​

Sunday, August 31 and Monday, September 1, 1969: 'The Second Annual Sky River Rock Festival & Lighter Than Air Fair - A Benefit For Cultural & Ecological Organizations In The Pacific N.W.', 360-acre Rainier Hereford Ranch, two miles north of Tenino, south of Olympia, Thurston County, Washington A three-day festival (August 30 - September 1) presented by New American Community Inc. For most of the month preceding the festival, it looked as if the event would never take place. Under intense pressure from police, conservatives, and the Catholic Archdiocese, virtually every county in the area passed laws prohibiting or severely restricting rock festivals. A site in Enumclaw, 30 miles southeast of Seattle in King County, was offered and then withdrawn, and producer John Chambless scrambled to find an alternative. He ended up with a strange locale: the 360-acre Rainier Hereford Ranch, a stretch of dry grassland dimpled with miniature hillocks (left behind as some glacial prank) near Tenino, south of Olympia. The Tenino Chamber of Commerce and several adjacent property owners obtained an injunction blocking a Thurston County permit, but a sympathetic judge required the plaintiffs to post a $25,000 bond against the festival's anticipated losses. They couldn't, and at the last possible second the festival was cleared for takeoff. An estimated 25,000 people attended over three days, but the festival still lost money. Also on the bill: Gordon Lightfoot (31, 1), Terry Dolan (31, 1), Collectors (31), Mark Spoelstra (31), New Lost City Ramblers (1), Cleanliness & Godliness SKiffle Band (31, 1), Flying Burrito Brothers (31, 1), Frumious Bandersnatch (1), Dan Hicks and His Hot Licks (1), Kaleidoscope (31, 1), Mike Russo (1), Big Mama Thornton (31, 1), Alice Stuart (31, 1), Larry Coryell (1), Country Weather (1), Anonimous Artists of America (31), Terry Reid (31), Los Flamencos (31), Charles Lloyd (31, 1), Universal Medicine (1), Dr. Humbead's New Tranquility String Band (31, 1), Yellowstone (31), Billy Roberts (31, 1), Fred McDowell (31), Juggernaut (31), Elyse Weinberg (31, 1), Pacific Gas & Electric (31), Country Joe and The Fish (31), Bluebird (1), Crow (1), Guitar Shorty (1), James Cotton (1), Buddy Guy (1), The Steve Miller Band (1), Blacksnake (1). Lights by Retina Circus. By the way, the festival was filmed.

Helix (1969)

Northwest Passage (September 9, 1969)

September 1969Jim Been quit The Sons Of Champlin. At that point the band became known also as The Sons.

Sunday, September 7, 1969: 'Aquarian Age', Folsom Field (outdoor football stadium), University Of Colorado campus, 2400 Colorado Avenue, Boulder, Colorado Also on the bill: The Byrds, Steve Miller Band, Buddy Guy, Tim Hardin, Country Joe and The Fish, Conal Implosion. Lights by Spontaneity.

The Sons Of Champlin #10, University of Colorado, September 7, 1969

The Sons Of Champlin #10, University of Colorado, September 7, 1969

​Saturday, September 20, 1969: '10th Annual Monterey Jazz Festival', Pattee Arena, Monterey County Fairgrounds, 2004 Fairgrounds Road, Monterey, CaliforniaAlso on the bll: Little Esther Phillips (backed by Bobby Bryant and The Soul Festival All-Stars), Roberta Flack, Lighthouse, Buddy Guy Blues Band, Miles Davis, Thelonious Monk, Joe Williams. "The opening act was supposed to be veteran pianist Willie 'The Lion' Smith," eyewitness Michael Parrish recalls, "but the always reliable Sons Of Champlin were called in as a last minute replacement. The Sons played a strong set that consisted largely of the extended material from their second album. Shaggy and freaky as the Sons were at the time, their music resonated with the audience thanks to their artful introduction of horns, Geoff Palmer's vibes, and guitarist Terry Haggerty's jazz scales and chord progressions."

​​Wednesday, September 24, 1969: 'Bay Area Drug Committee Presents At Bill Graham's Fillmore West A Benefit Show To Save The Children Of Biafra (aka Benefit for Biafran Children)', Fillmore West, 10 South Van Ness Avenue at 1545 Market Street, San Francisco, CaliforniaThe Sons Of Champlin's set was recorded and broadcasted in its entirety on KPFA (94.1 FM) and on KPFB (89.3 FM), two local radio stations, on August 27 and 28, 1971, from 11:00pm to 12 midnight each day. Also on the bill: It's A Beautiful Day, Sanpaku, The Outlaws (Dino Valenti & Garry [sic] Duncan), Ace Of Cups, Terry Dolan. Lights by Brotherhood Of Light. One show, started at 8:00pm.

The Oak Leaf (September 25, 1969)

​Friday, September 26, 1969: Peterson Gymnasium, San Diego State College campus, San Diego, CaliforniaThe show was sponsored by the Delta Chi fraternity and produced by Phillips and Allen Concert Associates. Also on the bill: Kaleidoscope, White Lightning. The Sons Of Champlin, who closed the show, came onstage shortly before midnight and they stopped playing shortly after 1:30am. ​

Saturday, October 4, 1969: 'Gold Rush', Lake Amador Meadows, Lake Amador, Plumas County, CaliforniaAlso on the bill: Santana, Kaleidoscope, Daybreak, Grateful Dead (canceled), Linn County, Southwind, Country Weather, Al Wilson, John Fahey, Ike and Tina Turner, Bo Diddley, Taj Mahal, Albert Collins, Dangerfield, It's A Beautiful Day (cancelled), Cold Blood. One show, from 9:00am to 1:00am. People came from all over the country to experience rock and roll at the Lake Amador Gold Rush Festival. An estimated 40,000 people flocked to the small county of Amador in central California to visit Lake Amador and its surrounding hills for this event.​

Friday, October 10 - Sunday, October 12, 1969: Family Dog On The Great Highway, Playland Amusement Park, 660 Great Highway, Ocean Beach, San Francisco, California The band was billed only as 'The Sons' on the poster printed for these shows (but as The Sons Of Champlin on the ads printed for this show). Also on the bill: A.B. Skhy, Brewer & Shipley. Lights by Jerry Abrams Head Lights. These shows, which lasted from 8:30pm to 2:00am, were promoted by Family Dog Presents.

Berkeley Tribe (October 10, 1969)

Berkeley Barb (October 10,1969)

​Saturday, October 11, 1969: 'San Quentin Rock Experience', San Quentin State Prison, San Quentin, Marin County, CaliforniaThe Sons Of Champlin and Country Joe & The Fish played an afternoon free rock concert, replete with dancing hippie chicks, on top of a flatbed truck inside the walls of San Quentin State Prison, to a crowd of approximately 1,200 people (about 2/3rds of the prison's eligible inmates). The show, on which no incidents of disobedience or violence were reported, was filmed in color by KPIX-TV Channel 5 (a CBS owned-and-operated television station located in San Francisco) and a couple of minutes were aired that same day on a News report by reporter Evan White (see below).

​​​Sunday, October 12, 1969: Applegate Community Park, 1045 West 25th Street, Merced, San Joaquin Valley, CaliforniaA free outdoor concert, from 12 noon to 6:00pm, promoted by Middle Earth & Associates Presents. Also on the bill: Cloud, Crazy Horse, Crystal Syphon, R.G. Rhythm. Lights by God! The Sons Of Champlin's set was filmed in color by someone in the audience and you can see a minute or so excerpt (unfortunately with no audio) here.

Tuesday, October 14 - Thursday, October 16, 1969: The Matrix, 3138 Fillmore Street, Marina District, San Francisco, CaliforniaAlso on the bill: Mendelbaum. One show a day, started at 8:30pm (Tuesday, Wednesday) and 9:00pm (Thursday).

Friday, October 17, 1969: American Legion Hall, 939 West Main Street, Merced, San Joaquin Valley, California Also on the bill: Cloud, Crazy Horse. The show was presented by Last Homely House. ​

Friday, ​October 24 - Sunday, October 26, 1969: Winterland, 2000 Post Street at Steiner Street, San Francisco, CaliforniaThe Sons Of Champlin's entire set from the Friday show (which featured former The Opposite Six's tenor sax player John Leones as stage guest) was recorded and you can listen and/or download it through Concert Vault's website here. "The Sons Of Champlin played a great set of music very similar to the one they had delivered at Monterey several weeks earlier." Eyewitness Michael Parrish recalls about their Friday's performance. "Their set from this show actually circulates in collector's circles, and consists of all but one track from their second album (which, according to a stage announcement from Bill Champlin, was due to be released the following week) followed by a long medley of 'Get High' and 'Freedom' from their earlier release 'Loosen Up Naturally.'" Also on the bill: Grateful Dead (24-26), Jefferson Airplane (24-26), Doug Kershaw (backed by Commander Cody and His Lost Planet Airmen) (24-26), (possibly) Hot Tuna (24-26), David Crosby and Stephen Stills (25). Lights by Glenn McKay's Headlights. These shows were promoted by Bill Graham Presents In San Francisco. Although the poster printed for these shows advertised only two nights (Friday and Saturday), a third night (Sunday) was added at last minute when ticket sales justified it. Apparently Stephen Stills and David Crosby played some music as an acoustic duet between Dead and Airplane sets on Saturday.

Late October 1969The Sons' second album, 'The Sons' (Capitol Records ST-332 / SKAO-332; Side A: '1. Love Of A Woman / 2. Terry's Tune / 3. Boomp Boomp Chop - Side B: 1. Why Do People Run From The Rain / 2. It's Time / 3. Country Girl / 4. You Can Fly'), was released in the US. "The album reflects some of the strains that were starting to show up in the band," Charlie Kelly recalls. "The title of the album is The Sons. Written in black type across the top of the cover is the note that: 'The Sons of Champlin have changed their name to THE SONS.' The logo that dominates the cover is a generic attempt at San Francisco poster art by an in-house artist. The apologetic line at the top was an attempt by Capitol to make sure potential purchasers knew that this was the Sons of Champlin, so the strategy of pointing out the name change was almost self-defeating. The attempt to change the name stemmed from pressure from the rest of the band to reduce Bill's status as the namesake and the star. After all, if he was the lead singer and the band was named after him, he must be the star, n'est ce pas? On the first album most of the songs were Bill's, and he sang them all. The band had been formed as a cooperative venture, and Bill's emergence was starting to chafe. Other members wanted the spotlight too; Tim wrote songs and had been featured more on vocals when the band started playing, but his role had been shrinking to that of horn player and arranger. There was another factor in the attempt at the name change. 'Sons of Champlin' was a clumsy handle at best, and no one got it right on the first attempt. Sometimes it seemed that it appeared as 'Sons of Chaplin' more often than it appeared right. 'Sons' would have been a good name, but it was too late." By the way, the album ostensibly reached #171 on the Billboard Top 200 LP charts.​

Tuesday, November 11 - Wednesday, November 12, 1969: Eastown Theatre, 8041 Harper Avenue, Detroit, Wayne County, Michigan The band was billed only as 'The Sons' on the poster printed for these shows. Also on the bill: Jefferson Airplane, King Crimson. "Bill Bowen and Geoff Palmer got arrested for marijuana by the Detroit Police in our hotel the day before this concert." Tim Cain recalls, "Bill Champlin had to play drums all night and sing at the same time. Bowen and Palmer were later found to be not guilty - we think the police planted some false evidence when they could not find any pot in our rooms. When they searched our rooms they took our touring money for evidence and never gave it back". Charlie Kelly confirmed the story about the Detroit police, and since the Sons had ended up lighter in the wallet by several thousand dollars, it meant they could no longer afford hotels.

​Friday, November 14 - Saturday, November 15, 1969: The Palladium, 136 Brownell Street, off 15 Mile Road, b/w Woodward Avenue & Hunter Street, Birmingham, Oakland County, MichiganThe band was billed as 'Sons Formally Sons Of Champlin' on the poster printed for these shows. Also on the bill: Jagged Edge (14-15), Promise (14), Rationals (15; filled in for the originally advertised Plain Brown Wrapper).

Sunday, November 23, 1969: Pabst Theater, 144 East Wells Street, Milwaukee, WisconsinThe band was billed as 'The Sons' on the poster, and as 'The Sons (Formerly The Sons Of Champlin)' on the Kaleidoscope newspaper ad. Also on the bill: Santana, The Soup, Short Stuff. Lights by Diogenes & Mastronix. Two shows, 3:00pm and 8:00pm, presented by The Third Coast.

Kaleidoscope (November 7-20, 1969)

Friday, November 28 - Sunday, November 30, 1969: Electric Factory, 2201 Arch Street, Philadelphia, PennsylvaniaThe band was billed only as 'The Sons' on the poster, but as Sons Of Champlin on The Daily Pennsylvanian ad. Also on the bill: Jacobs Creek (filled in for Smith) (28-29), Jethro Tull (30). ​

The Daily Pennsylvanian (November 6, 1969)

​December ?, 1969: The Hedges, New Britain, Hartford County, Connecticut

​Monday, December 8 - Tuesday, December 9, 1969: The Boston Tea Party, 15 Lansdowne Street, Boston, Suffolk County, MassachussetsAlso on the bill: Jethro Tull. Glenn Cornick, bass player of Jethro Tull, sat-in with the Sons during one of their sets.

​Wednesday, December 17 - Thursday, December 18, 1969: Ungano's, 210 West 70th Street, b/w Amsterdam and West End Avenues, Manhattan, New York City, New YorkThe band was advertised as 'The Sons'. Also on the bill: Terry Reid.

Friday, December 19 - Saturday, December 20, 1969: Fillmore East, 105 2nd Avenue at East 6th Street, East Greenwich Village, Manhattan, New York City, New YorkAlso on the bill: Byrds, The Nice, Dion (late shows only). Lights by Joshua Light Show. These shows, two a day at 8:00pm and 11:30pm, were promoted by Bill Graham Presents In New York.

The East Village Other (December 24, 1969)

The East Village Other (January 7, 1970)

Wednesday, December 31, 1969: '1969 New Years Eve 1970', Winterland 2000 Post Street at Steiner Street, San Francisco, CaliforniaThe band was billed only as 'The Sons' on the poster printed for this show. Also on the bill: Quicksilver Messenger Service, Jefferson Airplane, Hot Tuna. Lights by Brotherhood of Light. This show, from 8:00pm to 8:00am, was promoted by Bill Graham Presents In San Francisco.​

Sons Of Champlin #10, Winterland, San Francisco, December 31, 1969

Sons Of Champlin #10, Winterland, San Francisco, December 31, 1969

Saturday, January 10, 1970: Convention Hall, Community Concourse, 202 C Street, San Diego, California Also on the bill: Grateful Dead, Aum. The show, which started at 8:30pm, was promoted by KPRI (a local radio station) Presents. According to eyewitness, The Sons were a last second replacement for Savoy Brown, who appeared on the poster printed for this show. The band ran overtime on their set (according to Charlie Kelly), ending with Bobby 'Blue' Band's classic 'Turn On Your Lovelight', already a Grateful Dead concert staple. As the promoter and the Dead were getting irritated, the promoter started lowering the hydraulic stage to indicate to them that it was time to go!

Sunday, January 25, 1970: Ballroom, Smith Memorial Student Union, Portland State University campus, 1825 Southwest Broadway, Portland, Multnomah County, OregonAlso on the bill: Mixed Blood. Lights by Gary Ewing's Lightshow. Two shows, from 4:30pm to 7:30pm, and from 8:00pm to 1:00am.

​Saturday, January 31, 1970: Santa Monica Civic Auditorium, 1855 Main Street, Santa Monica, Los Angeles County, CaliforniaThe band was advertised as 'The Sons'. Also on the bill: Youngbloods. The show, which started at 8:00pm, was promoted by KRLA Presents and produced by Concert Associates.

Wednesday, February 11, 1970: '6th Annual Lee Man Soo Dance Benefit', Gymnasium, John F. Kennedy High School, 4300 Cutting Boulevard, Richmond, Contra Costa County, CaliforniaAlso on the bill: Joy of Cooking. Money raised from the dance, which lasted from 8pm to12 midnight, goes into a saving account for WHS' Korean orphan Lee Man Soo. Eventually the money was used to bring him to Washington High School in Fremont.

The Hatchet (February 11, 1970)

​Thursday, February 12 - Sunday, February 15, 1970: Fillmore West, 10 South Van Ness Avenue at 1545 Market Street, San Francisco, CaliforniaThe band was billed only as 'The Sons' on the poster printed for these shows. A soundboard tape recording of the Sunday show exist. Also on the bill: Country Joe and The Fish, Area Code 615. Lights by Dr. Zarkov. These shows were promoted by Bill Graham Presents In San Francisco. ​

Thursday, February 19, 1970: Fairfax Pavilion, Fairfax, Marin CountyThe band was billed only as 'The Sons' on the poster printed for this show. The opening act was a local jazz-rock group called Beefy Red which included The Sons' future drummer Jim Preston, and future trumpeters Mark Isham and Phil Wood. One show, started at 9:00pm.

Friday, February 20, 1970: Berkeley Community Theatre, 1930 Allston Way, Berkeley, Alameda County, California The band was billed as 'The Sons' on the poster printed for this show. Also on the bill: Youngbloods, Lamb. The show, which started at 8:00pm, was promoted by Direct Productions.

San Francisco Chronicle (February 18, 1970)

Saturday, February 21, 1970: Contra Costa County Fairgrounds, 1201 West 10th Street, Antioch, Contra Costa County, CaliforniaAlso on the bill: Aum, Joy Of Cooking. Lights by Deadly Nightshade. The show, from 8:30pm to 12:30am, was promoted by Appearing Productions. The Sons Of Champlin break up right after this gig. Tim Cain went to play with Good Dog Banned, Terry Haggerty and Geoff Palmer went to play with Nu Boogaloo Express, while Bill Champlin went to play with The Rhythm Dukes (and later with Nu Boogaloo Express too).​

November or December 1970The reformed Sons find a new regular rehearsal space at The Church, 1405 San Anselmo Avenue, San Anselmo, Marin County. "I spent a lot of time in that building, where two of the Sons' albums were recorded," Charlie Kelly recalls. "The building dated from just after the turn of the century, one of the oldest buildings in San Anselmo. It had originally stood alone on a sunny slope a hundred yards from a train stop called Lansdale Station, a typical tiny church sanctuary for a town whose residents must have then numbered in the hundreds. Over the years a neighborhood had grown up around it and a school was built across the street. The trains quit running in 1950, and parking started to be a problem for the small church. The original structure was one large room for services, perhaps forty by twenty-five feet, with a high, vaulted ceiling, large enough for a congregation of fifty or sixty. By the time I saw it, this had been converted to living quarters, because The Church had expanded. When the congregation outgrew the original building, a larger sanctuary was built on one side of the original building, ruining the architecture and complicating the drainage off the hillside. In 1969 the building went on the market, and three partners, Bruce Walford, Paul Stubblebine and Alan Rockefeller scraped together the $19,000 to purchase the building. Their idea was to build a studio in the big room. Bruce Walford had engineered the Sons' first album, and Paul Stubblebine had worked with Bruce to build the Sons' first sound system. Alan and his family took up residence in the old part of the building, and work started in the sanctuary. A wall was built even with the end of the choir loft, and in the loft a double pane window of heavy butcher display-case plate glass was installed, and an eight-track Ampex machine the size of a refrigerator hoisted up through the window before it was sealed. A mixing board was installed in the loft, and mike cables strung through the floor of the loft to the main floor. The floor below the loft was turned into shop and storage space, and the rest of the big room was the studio. With limited circulation, the loft could get really hot, when four or five people got together in it along with the tape machines and amplifiers. All the time this was going on, I was living in various parts of the building. It was a honeycomb of small rooms, and over the next few years I lived in three of them. As long as I worked on the building, no one minded me living in whatever part kept me out of the way. That was cheap enough rent, since I was dragging down a regular $30 a week as a part-time sound guy at The Lion's Share and riding my bicycle virtually all day every day." "After the recording gear was installed, the band finished its three album contract with a leisurely session," Charlie adds. "Capitol had given up on The Sons, everyone knew that they were toast, but they DID have the right to finish the contract, even if the company was going to throw the album away as soon as it was done. So over a period of several weeks, Follow Your Heart was recorded. The entire band, now minus Tim Cain, was almost never assembled at any one time. Bill and Geoff played a lot of the drums and bass on it, leaving Bowen and Strong off several tracks entirely, not exactly a roaring vote of confidence. Bill played my cheap Japanese classical guitar on one track, bought for $62 in Phoenix in 1967, probably the funkiest instrument he ever recorded with, and I don't mean funky-good. Anne Hatch did the artwork, working in another room of the building. Gary Phillippet and Bruce Brymer came by and sang lead on a track. An album happened, was released and forgotten, although two of the songs on it managed to get back on the playlist in 2001 (Follow Your Heart and Hey, Children)."

Saturday, ​February 20 - Sunday, February 21, 1971: Pepperland, 737 East Francisco Boulevard, San Rafael, Marin County, CaliforniaThe band was billed as 'The Sons' on the poster printed for this show. Also on the bill: Big Brother and The Holding Co., Clover. Lights by Brotherhood Of Light.​

​Thursday, March 18 - Sunday, March 21, 1971: Fillmore West, 10 South Van Ness Avenue at 1545 Market Street, San Francisco, CaliforniaAlso on the bill: Mark-Almond, Commander Cody, Melting Pot. Lights by San Francisco Light Works. These shows, which lasted from 8:30pm to 2:00am each day, were promoted by Bill Graham Presents In San Francisco.

Friday, April 2, 1971: Campolindo High School, 300 Moraga Road, Moraga, Contra Costa County, CaliforniaThe band was advertised as 'The Sons (formerly of Champlin)'. Also on the bill: Joy Of Cooking, Climate. Lights by Prismatic Revenge. One show, from 7:30pm to 12 midnight.

Saturday, April 17 - Sunday, April 18, 1971: USD Gym, University of San Diego campus, 5998 Alcala Park, San Diego, California The band was billed only as 'The Sons' on the poster printed for these shows. Also on the bill: Stoneground, Elvin Bishop. Sound by State Of Mind. These shows, which started at 7:00pm each day, were promoted by Direct Productions Inc. with The Associated Students Of The University Of San Diego Present. ​

​​Late April 1971The Sons' third album, 'Follow Your Heart' (Capitol Records ST-675; Side A: '1. Before You Right Now / 2. Children Know / 3. Hey Children / 4. Follow Your Heart - Side B: 1. Beside You / 2. Headway / 3. The Child Continued / 4. A Sound Love / 5. Well Done'), was released only in the US.

Saturday, June 19, 1971: Fox West Coast Theatre, 333 East Ocean Avenue, Long Beach, Los Angeles County, CaliforniaAlso on the bill: Big Brother and The Holding Company.

June 2?, 1971Al Strong and Bill Bowen leave The Sons Of Champlin and were replaced by David Walter 'Dave' Schallock, aka 'Schalloroma' (b. Sunday, August 8, 1948, San Francisco County) on bass, and William Robert 'Bill' Vitt on drums (b. Thursday, May 6, 1943, Washington - d. Tuesday, July 16, 2019), both formerly of Nu Boogaloo Express (Schallock was also formerly of Big Brother and The Holding Company). At that point the band became known also as Yogi Phlegm (!?). "The name came from a fictional Indian mystic who was always being quoted as the guru of weirdness," Charlie Kelly recalls. "Bob Cain had invented him while we were all in a restaurant one evening, and he became symbolic of new-age nebulous philosophy. The real reason that the band changed the name was that the Sons of Champlin had been a brotherhood, and when Bill decided that he wanted to play with a different bass player and drummer, the problem arose: is the Sons this specific group, or does someone own the name and have the right to apply it anywhere? Rather than hassle about it, it was easier to get a couple of new guys and call the band something else. Of course, there were probably better choices than Yogi Phlegm, but the name had a lot in common with the music. Yogi Phlegm was Bill, Terry, Geoffrey, and bassist Dave Schallock and drummer Bill Vitt. Dave Schallock had been in Bill's high school class, and along with Bruce Walford had been the unofficial producer of Loosen Up Naturally."

​​Saturday, July 3, 1971: 'Fillmore West Closing Week', Fillmore West, 10 South Van Ness Avenue at 1545 Market Street, San Francisco, CaliforniaThe band was billed as 'Yogi Phlegm' on the poster printed for this show promoted by Bill Graham Presents In San Francisco. "Bill Graham hated the name," Charlie Kelly recalls. "[In fact] on the record album that was later released from the concert, the one tune ('Poppa Can Play') was credited to the Sons Of Champlin. Of course we didn't have anything like an equipment truck for the last days of the Fillmore. I can still remember the look on the Quicksilver roadies' faces when I drove the equipment up to the back door of the Fillmore in a borrowed 1951 Chevy flatbed that looked like it might have flunked the Mexican safety inspection." Also on the bill: Quicksilver Messenger Service, Hot Tuna. Lights by Little Princess 109. The Yogi Phlegm's entire set was recorded and you can listen and/or download it through Concert Vault's website here. The song 'Poppa Can Play' was included in the Various Artists three-disc LP, 'Fillmore: The Last Days' (Fillmore Records Z3X 31390), released in June 1972 in the US. ​​

​July 1971The Sons' fourth album, 'Minus Seeds And Stems' (Not On Label CFS-2126; Side A: '1 Who's Afraid Of Virginia Woolf [Studio Recording, Fall 1967, lineup #4] / 2. You Don't Love Me No More [Fillmore West, 1969] / 3. Nice Time Being [?] / 4. Miles Around You [Practice Recording, The Heliport, Early 1968] / 5. What Are We Doing Here (Winterland Jam) [Berkeley Community Theatre, February 20, 1970] / 6. Lucille [New Orleans House, 1968, when Terry Haggerty had failed to show up] / 7. Roll Out The Barrel [Winterland, 1969] - Side B: 1. Yo Mama [Practice Recording, The Heliport, Early 1968] / 2. Uncle Mergetroid [Practice Recording, The Heliport, Early 1968] / 3. Chico Smoke El Ropo (Winterland Live Jam) [Berkeley Community Theatre, February 20, 1970] / 4. Instantaneous Instrumental Jam (Or Do Watcha Wanna Do) [?] / 5. Get High (Piano Solo) [?] / 6. Hey Children [?] / 7. Hag Backwards (Inside Outside) [?] / 8. Beggin' You Baby [Fillmore West, 1969]'), was privately released in a limited pressing only in the US. Although the album was assembled and edited by sound engineer Bruce Walford at The Church in San Anselmo in 1971, none of the recording was done there that year. The album was actually a compilation of previously unissued studio and live tracks recorded between 1967 and 1970. The album was reissued on March 20, 1993, on a limited edition of 200 CDs.

Friday, August 13 - Saturday, August 14, 1971: The Inn Of The Beginning, 8201 Old Redwood Highway, downtown Cotati, Sonoma County, CaliforniaThe band was misspelled as 'Yogi Plegm Also Known As (Sons Of Champlin)' on the venue monthly calendar. Also on the bill: Uncle Vinty.

Sunday, August 15, 1971: Pacific High Recording Co., 60 Brady Street, San Francisco, CaliforniaEvery Sunday night from 6:00pm to 9:00pm, KSAN 95 FM, a local radio station, presented from the P.H.R. studios, a live music show hosted by the great late Bay Area deejay, record producer and music promoter Tom 'Big Daddy' Donahue. Yogi Phlegm played that night, along with Grootna, and Congress Of Wonders.

Berkeley Tribe (August 20, 1971)

​Saturday, August 28, 1971: Grace Pavilion, Sonoma County Fairgrounds, 1350 Bennett Valley Road, Santa Rosa, Sonoma County, CaliforniaThe band was billed as 'Yogi Phlegm Formerly Sons Of Champlin' on the poster printed for this show. Also on the bill: Cold Blood, The Elvin Bishop Group. The show, which started at 8:00pm, was promoted by F.M. Productions.

Thursday, ​September 9 - Saturday, September 11, 1971: 'The Grand Reopening Of Pepperland', Pepperland, 737 East Francisco Boulevard, San Rafael, Marin County, CaliforniaThe band was billed as 'Yogi Phlegm Formerly The Sons' on the poster printed for these shows. Also on the bill: Steve Miller Band, Nazgul, Clover. These shows were promoted by Fun Prod. Presents.

Thursday, September 16 - Saturday, September 18, 1971: New Orleans House, 1505 San Pablo Avenue, Berkeley, Alameda County, CaliforniaThe band was advertised as Yogi Phlegm (formerly Sons of Champlin). Also on the bill: Clover.

Berkeley Tribe ad (September 10, 1971)

Berkeley Tribe ad (September 17, 1971)

Friday, October 8, 1971: 'University of Nebraska Omaha's Homecoming Dance', Omaha Civic Auditorium Music Hall, 1804 Capitol Avenue, Omaha, Douglas County, Nebraska The band was advertised as both 'Sons Of Champlin' and 'Yogi Phlegm' on local newspapers. Also on the bill: George Carlin, Joy Of Cooking. One show, started at 8:00pm. ​

The Daily Nebraskan (October 7, 1971)

Omaha World Herald (October 9, 1971)

The Gateway (October 13, 1971)

UNO Yearbook (1972)

Friday, October 15 - Saturday, October 16, 1971: Town & Country Lodge, Highway 9, Ben Lomond, Santa Cruz County, CaliforniaSaturday, November 6 - Sunday, November 7, 1971: Solano County Fairgrounds, 900 Fairgrounds Road, Vallejo, Solano County, CaliforniaThe band was billed as 'Yogi Phlegm' on the poster printed for these shows. Also on the bill: Cottonmouth, Grimey Devine.

Friday, November 12 - Saturday, November 13, 1971: The Inn Of The Beginning, 8201 Old Redwood Highway, downtown Cotati, Sonoma County, CaliforniaThe band was billed as 'Yogi Phlegm' on the venue monthly calendar.

Wednesday, November 24, 1971: 'A "Cold Turkey" Rock Party!', Marin Veteran's Memorial Auditorium, Marin County Civic Center, 3501 Civic Center Drive, San Rafael, Marin County, CaliforniaThe band was billed as 'Yogi Phlegm (Formerly The Sons)' on the poster printed for this show. Also on the bill: Big Brother & The Holding Co., Clover, Quicksilver Messenger Service. The show, which started at 7:30pm, was promoted by Edwin Heaven Presents. The show was a benefit sponsored by Fred Mayer, a Sausalito pharmacist, and the proceeds goes to Marin Opera House, a methadone treatment center, and to Reach Out, a crisis phone service. ​

​Friday, December 31, 1971: Winterland, 2000 Post Street at Steiner Street, San Francisco, CaliforniaThe band was billed as 'Yogi Phlegm'. Also on the bill: Grateful Dead, New Riders Of The Purple Sage. Lights by Heavy Water. This show, from 8:00pm to 2:00am, was promoted by Bill Graham Presents. The Dead's set was broadcast in its entirety on KSAN 95 FM, a local radio station, as was the New Riders'. As a side note, the Dead and the New Riders record companies would have paid for KSAN to broadcast the band. Warner Brothers (for the Dead) and Columbia (for the Riders) would have compensated KSAN for the amount of ads that they would have lost by broadcasting an uninterrupted live show. Yogi Phlegm did not have a record company at the time, so there was no entity to underwrite a broadcast of them. In that respect, the fact that the New Riders were broadcast and the Sons were not had nothing to do with KSAN's "feelings" about The Sons (Yogi Phlegm) vs the Riders, as it would have been strictly a business decision.

​January 1972The Sons Of Champlin hired a new manager named Wally Haas. "As 1971 turned into 1972, hope appeared on the horizon in the form of Wally Haas," Charlie Kelly confirms. "The scion of a prominent San Francisco family whose wealth goes back to the founder of the Levi Strauss company during the Gold Rush, Wally had money, was a devoted fan of the band, and felt that what they needed was a manager and some decent equipment. He said he could provide both, and with no one else lining up for the job, the Sons took him up on the offer."

Sunday, January 2, 1972: Winterland, 2000 Post Street at Steiner Street, San Francisco, CaliforniaThe band was billed as 'Yogi Phlegm'. Also on the bill: Grateful Dead, New Riders Of The Purple Sage. Lights by Heavy Water. This show was promoted by Bill Graham Presents In San Francisco.

Friday, January 7 - Saturday, January 8, 1972: The Longbranch, 2504 San Pablo Avenue, Berkeley, Alameda County, CaliforniaThe band was billed as 'Yogi Phlegm'. Also on the bill: Frank Biner Band.

Friday, January 14 - Saturday, January 15, 1972: The Inn Of The Beginning, 8201 Old Redwood Highway, downtown Cotati, Sonoma County, CaliforniaThe band was billed as 'Yogi Phlegm Formerly The Sons Of Champlin' on the venue monthly calendar. One show each night, started at 9:30pm.

​Friday, January 21, 1972: (Upstairs At) Boarding House Theatre, 960 Bush Street, San Francisco, CaliforniaYogi Phlegm were originally advertised to play also on Saturday, January 22 (according to the poster and to a San Francisco Good Times ad below), but according to a subsequent ad in the Berkeley Barb (see below too), Mel Saunders and Nick Gravenites filled in for them on Saturday exactly. Also on the bill: Alice Stuart, Ric Meyers. Lights by Night Blindness. One show, started at 8:30pm.

Sunday, March 5, 1972: 'American Indian Benefit (aka Benefit for Sufi Indians, aka Benefit for Traditional American Indians)', Winterland, 2000 Post Street at Steiner Street, San Francisco, CaliforniaThe band was billed as 'Yogi Phlegm'. Also on the bill: Grateful Dead, New Riders Of The Purple Sage. Lights by Heavy Water. The show, which started at 8:00pm, was promoted by Bill Graham Presents. Curiously, the benefit began with Bill Champlin and Bill Vitt of Yogi Phlegm playing with Jerry Garcia and Phil Lesh of the Grateful Dead. While Vitt played drums, Champlin sang and played Hammond organ for a couple of jammed out blues, Jimmy Reed's 'Big Boss Man', and B.B. King's 'Everyday I Have The Blues' (a soundboard tape recording of this show exist). Jerry Garcia was a rock star by any standard, and a major star in the firmament in San Francisco. Why was he opening his band's show at the biggest rock venue in San Francisco with some casual blues jamming with the opening act? The story as far as I know it seems to have been that three members of Yogi Phlegm (Terry Haggerty, Geoff Palmer, and David Schallock) were stuck in traffic on the Golden Gate Bridge, on the way to Winterland. In the era before cell phones, there was no telling where they might have been and when they might arrive. Bill Graham liked to run a tight ship, and he had a complicated love/hate relationship with The Sons - he had always supported the band (in 1969 he loaned them money to buy a truck, for example), but he thought he knew what was best for them, too. Graham probably saw their booking on the bill as a courtesy, and wasn't going to delay the show because three members of the band were missing in action. Supposedly Graham blew his stack and told Bill Champlin to find a guitar player and bassist and get on stage and start playing at the appointed time "or else".

Saturday, March 11, 1972: Solano County Fairgrounds, 900 Fairgrounds Drive, Vallejo, Solano County, CaliforniaA soundboard tape recording of this show exist. Also on the bill: Elvin Bishop, Blue Mountain. One show, started at 8:00pm.

March ??, 1972Bill Vitt leaves The Sons Of Champlin (he went to play with Jerry Garcia and Merle Saunders' band) and was replaced on drums by James 'Jim' Preston (d. July 2014 after an almost two year battle with cancer), who at that time was in jail after a drug bust! "Champlin, Haggerty, and Schallock show up at the visitor’s booth at the jail and ask me if I want to be a member of the band," Jim Preston confirms in an interview with Joe Mathews. "And I’m in jail. I’m in a jumpsuit. Now I was their guy, I was in the band, I was a good drummer. They knew who I was, I made it a point to cross paths with them. They’re who I wanted to be. At shows, I would just visit with ‘em. I knew ‘em, you know? So, plus Daniel Schallock, David’s younger brother and I were at College of Marin together. So I knew Dave pretty well. So anyway, they came and said 'Would you be interested in being in the band?' I said absolutely, but there’s a problem. I’m in jail. If we can get these bars outta here, maybe we could start to do something. Three days go by, and Dan Weinstein, a friend of Wally’s, gets in it. I think he’s a federal judge somewhere now. But that’s when he was a top attorney. Wally Haas, you know, with the Levi’s money behind him, hires Weinstein to act as my attorney, and tries to get me out and modify my sentence. We end up in front of a Judge Henry Broderick. Henry J. Broderick. This guy was the head of the Republican Central Committee. A piss and vinegar, hanging judge who wanted nothing to do with hippies or me or anything remotely resembling anybody liberal at all. So Weinstein gets me a court date and we meet for an interview to try and figure something out. He looks at my police report and the subsequent pretrial stuff and he goes, 'You were never in the same place with the dope at the same time,' which I knew because I’d given it to Johnny Otis (not R&B legend Johnny Otis). It was the move I made, absolutely conscious move. …You know, kind of old school rules. If we’re gonna go down you’re going down first. So anyway, they asked me to be in the band. Weinstein looks at my shit and he says, 'I don’t see why you even spent one night in jail.' He said, 'This is stupid. You pled out to something you didn’t have to.' I’m like, fuck me, man, you know? But I was having a good time so I really didn’t much care. Anyway, so three days goes by. We’re in court with this Broderick. I’ll never forget this part. You can ask Champlin about this one, it was too much. The guys were there and Wally finally joined ‘em in that thing, and Weinstein was there and it’s like three or four guys there and it was Hag, Champlin. I don’t know, maybe Hags. I know Schallock was there. Anyway Weinstein says, 'Your honor, we have a defendant, Mr. Preston. He wishes to get out on a tour of Kansas City. Blah-blah-blah-blah.' And he wants me on work furlough after that. 'We have an offer for him to join this band and become a productive member of society, blah-blah-blah. You know. And we’re gonna reform this guy.' First, the guy’s just going on about how good it will be for me, and he says, you know, this is a national touring band, and so on. Then Broderick starts about a five minute tirade, saying, 'You expect me to let this marijuana felon out to spread his litany of drugs all over the country? You’ve gotta be out of your mind!' He just goes through this whole thing for like five minutes about how bad I am and how bad it is, how everything’s bad… And this goes on, and finally he runs out of gas, he’s turning purple and spitting. Sweating, spitting. And we’re all there, I’m looking at him and going, ah, I’m fucked. I’m fucked. This is not gonna happen. I’ve never even thought that this could happen. I’m already resigned to going back in, because I wanted it so bad that I knew it was something I couldn’t have, you know? And I just thought, you know what? I can’t even get into this because I know it’s not gonna happen. I just had that attitude. So I just sat there. And the judge is spouting all his shit. Finally Weinstein says, I’ll never forget it, he stands up and he goes 'The defense appreciates your comments, your honor.' And he filed everything that Broderick had said, and he was just like, 'But we have a working band here.' And he’s got like, several record albums, including, Minus Seeds & Stems is in there, and he presents them. (The album cover photo is of marijuana plants) And so the judge is now looking at this stuff. 'One of these song titles, is Get High? And what’s this picture of here?' And he’s freaking out. But then Weinstein says, 'But we want him to contribute to the Marin County Probation Fund.' This piece of dough. I mean grease the wheels, you know? So, the next day I’m out on work furlough. I couldn’t believe it." By the way, at that point the band became again known also as The Sons.

Saturday, March 18, 1972: Duane Allman Memorial Fieldhouse, University of Iowa campus, 225 South Grand Avenue, Iowa City, Johnson County, Iowa Also on the bill: Elvin Bishop Group, Uncle Vinty. The show was sponsored by the Commission for University Entertainment (CUE).

Wednesday, ​March 22, 1972: West Gymnasium, University of Northern Iowa campus, 1227 West 27th Street, Cedar Falls, Black Hawk County, IowaThe band was billed only as 'The Sons'. An audience tape recording of this show exist. Also on the bill: Uncle Vinty.

Wednesday, May 17 - Thursday, May 18, 1972: The Inn Of The Beginning, 8201 Old Redwood Highway, downtown Cotati, Sonoma County, CaliforniaThe band was billed as 'Sons Of Cahmplin Formerly Known As Yogi Phlegm' on the venue monthly calendar. Also on the bill: Family Grace.

​Sunday, ​June 4, 1972: Upper Quarry Amphitheater, UC (University of California) Santa Cruz campus, Santa Cruz, California​Sunday, June 11, 1972: KTIM (1510 AM, 100.9 FM) Radio Show, San Rafael, Marin County, CaliforniaA four-hour live radio show from 8:00pm to 12 midnight, broadcasted in its entirety on the Marin County's little free form radio station KTIM.

Saturday, July 1, 1972: Long Beach Municipal Auditorium, 300 East Ocean Boulevard, Long Beach, Los Angeles County, CaliforniaAlso on the bill: Elvin Bishop Group, The Doobie Bros, Uncle Vinty. The show, which started at 7:30pm, was promoted by Solid Rock Presents.

Sunday, July 16, 1972: Paramount Northwest, 911 Pine Street at 9th Avenue, downtown Seattle, King County, WashingtonAlso on the bill: Paul Butterfield. The show, which started at 8:00pm, was presented by Paramount Northwest and Squires.

Thursday, July 20, 1972: The Inn Of The Beginning, 8201 Old Redwood Highway, downtown Cotati, Sonoma County, California (Sons Of Champlin canceled)The Sons, as they were advertised on the venue monthly calendar, canceled at last minute and were replaced by Merl Saunders, Mike Bloomfield, Bill Vitt. ​

Thursday, September 14, 1972: The Inn Of The Beginning, 8201 Old Redwood Highway, downtown Cotati, Sonoma County, CaliforniaOne show, started at 9:00pm. ​

Thursday, October 5, 1972: The Inn Of The Beginning, 8201 Old Redwood Highway, downtown Cotati, Sonoma County, CaliforniaThe band was billed as 'The Sons (of Champlin)' on the venue monthly calendar.

Friday, ​​October 20 - Saturday, October 21, 1972: Winterland, 2000 Post Street at Steiner Street, San Francisco, CaliforniaThe band was billed only as 'The Sons'. Also on the bill: Copperhead, Elvin Bishop, Mike Bloomfield. These shows were promoted by Bill Graham Presents.

Friday, October 27, 1972: Winterland, 2000 Post Street at Steiner Street, San Francisco, California (canceled)Also on the bill: New Riders Of The Purple Sage, Copperhead. The show was promoted by Bill Graham Presents. ​Thursday, November 9, 1972: Keystone, 2119 University Avenue, Berkeley, Alameda County, California

Wednesday, November 15, 1972: The Inn Of The Beginning, 8201 Old Redwood Highway, downtown Cotati, Sonoma County, CaliforniaThe band was billed as 'The Sons' on the venue monthly calendar. Also on the bill: Kopavi.

Saturday, November 18, 1972: The Inn Of The Beginning, 8201 Old Redwood Highway, downtown Cotati, Sonoma County, CaliforniaThe Sons Of Champlin filled in for the advertised Lamb. Also on the bill: Jeffrey Cain.

Monday, December 11, 1972: Winterland, 2000 Post Street at Steiner Street, San Francisco, California The Sons, as the band was billed, filled in for the advertised Allman Brothers Band. Also on the bill: Grateful Dead. The show was promoted by Bill Graham Presents. ​Thursday, December 14, 1972: 'Christmas Celebration - Dance Concert', Gymnasium, Diablo Valley College, 321 Golf Club Road, Pleasant Hill, Contra Costa County, CaliforniaThe band was misspelled as 'Sons Of Chaplan' on the poster printed for this show. Also on the bill: Stoneground, Kelly Green King. The show, which started at 8:00pm, was promoted by Music Productions Presents. ​

Sunday, December 31, 1972: Winterland, 2000 Post Street at Steiner Street, San Francisco, California The band was billed only as 'The Sons'. Also on the bill: Grateful Dead, New Riders Of The Purple Sage. The show was promoted by Bill Graham Presents. The Sons' former member Tim Cain sat-in on sax as guest for much of their set, a set that was broadcasted in its entirety on KSAN, a local radio station, and that you can listen and/or download through Concert Vault's website here. ​

The Sons Of Champlin #13, Winterland, San Francisco, December 31, 1972

The Sons Of Champlin #13, Winterland, San Francisco, December 31, 1972

The Sons Of Champlin #13, Winterland, San Francisco, December 31, 1972

Sunday, January 7, 1973: The Inn Of The Beginning, 8201 Old Redwood Highway, downtown Cotati, Sonoma County, CaliforniaThe band was billed as 'The Sons' on the venue monthly calendar. Also on the bill: RAGS.

Sunday, January 21, 1973: The Inn Of The Beginning, 8201 Old Redwood Highway, downtown Cotati, Sonoma County, CaliforniaThe band was billed as 'The Sons' on the venue monthly calendar. Also on the bill: Soundhole.​

Thursday, March 15 - Friday, March 16, 1973: 'A Swell Dance Concert', Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum, 1255 Hempstead Turnpike, Uniondale, Nassau County, New YorkAlso on the bill: Grateful Dead. These shows, which started at 7:00pm each night, were promoted by Bill Graham Presents.

Friday, March 23 - Saturday, March 24, 1973: The Inn Of The Beginning, 8201 Old Redwood Highway, downtown Cotati, Sonoma County, California (Sons Of Champlin canceled)Although advertised in the venue monthly calendar, The Sons Of Champlin canceled at last minute for unknown reasons and were replaced by Finnegan and Wood.

Saturday, May 12, 1973: Paramount Theatre, 1037 Southwest Broadway, Portland, Multnomah County, OregonAlso on the bill: Slade. The show, which started at 8:00pm, was promoted by Portland Paramount Northwest presents.

​Friday, May 18, 1973: Aragon Ballroom, 1106 Lawrence Aveue, Chicago, Cook County, Illinois The band was billed only as 'The Sons' on the poster printed for this show. Also on the bill: Cold Blood, Joy Of Cooking, Tim Davis And Watermelon. One show, started at 7:30pm.

Friday, May 25, 1973: Neutral Ground, San Diego, CaliforniaAlso on the bill: Batteaux.

Los Angeles Free Press (June 15, 1973)

Saturday, May 26, 1973: Long Beach Arena, 300 East Ocean Boulevard, Long Beach, Los Angeles County, CaliforniaAlso on the bill: Lee Michaels. The show, which started at 8:00pm, was produced by Concert Associates. ​

Sunday, June 17, 1973: 'Live From The Plant', KSAN Radio Show, The Record Plant (recording studio), 2200 Bridgeway, Sausalito, Marin County, CaliforniaA one-hour live radio show hosted by KSAN general manager Tom 'Big Daddy' Donanue from 11:00pm to 12 midnight, and broadcasted in its entirety on KSAN 95 FM.

Sunday, June 24, 1973: Delaware Park, Meadow Drive, Buffalo, Erie County, New YorkThe show was broadcasted (possibly) in its entirety on WGRQ, a local radio station. A soundboard tape recording of this show also exist.

Tuesday, June 26, 1973: The Hedges, New Britain, Hartford County, Connecticut

Thursday, June 28, 1973: Bananafish Park, 9604 Third Avenue, Brooklyn, New York City, New York (canceled)​Thursday, June 28 - Friday, June 29, 1973: The Circus, 23 Saint Mark's Place, b/w 2nd and 3rd Avenues, East Greenwich Village, Manhattan, New York City, New York (canceled)

Saturday, June 30, 1973: '6st Annual The Schaefer Music Festival in Central Park', Wollman Memorial Skating Rink, 5th Avenue and 59th Street, South Central Park, Manhattan, New York City, New YorkAn audience tape recording of the Sons' performance exist. Also on the bill: Chambers Bros. One show, started at 7:00pm. Club owner and musician Hilly Kristal co-founded the festival with producer and concert promoter Ron Delsener. The festival was sponsored by Schaefer Beer.

Sunday, July 1 or Monday, July 2, 1973: Warner Theatre, 68 Main Street, Torrington, Litchfield County, ConnecticutAn audience tape recording of this show exist.

Sunday, July 8, 1973: Singer Bowl, Flushing Meadows, Queens, New York City, New York

Saturday, August 4, 1973: Jungle Theater, Marine World, Highway 101, Redwood City, San Mateo County, CaliforniaAlso on the bill: Dr. Hook and The Medicine Show. One show, started at 8:00pm.

Sunday, August 12, 1973: Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum, 7000 Coliseum Way, Oakland, Alameda County, CaliforniaThe Sons Of Champlin filled in for the advertised Dr. John The Night Tripper. Also on the bill: Bonnie Bramlett, Dr. Hook and The Medicine Show, Guess Who. The show, which started at 8:00pm, was promoted by Chocolate Moose Presents. ​Wednesday, August 15, 1973: Golden State Theatre, 417 Alvarado Street, Monterey, California

Friday, August 17, 1973: Hollywood Palladium, 6215 Sunset Boulevard, Downtown Hollywood, Los Angeles County, CaliforniaAlso on the bill: Chuck Berry, Bo Diddley. The show, which started at 8:00pm, was promoted by KDAY Presents.

Friday, October 5, 1973: Omaha Civic Auditorium Music Hall, 1804 Capitol Avenue, Omaha, Douglas County, Nebraska Also on the bill: Ten Wheel Drive. One show, started at 8:00pm. ​

The Daily Nebraskan (October 4, 1973)

Saturday, October 6, 1973: Old City Auditorium, 404-424 North Fourth Street, Saint Joseph, Buchanan County, MissouriAlso on the bill: Natural Act. Lights by Graphic Lights. One show, started at 8:00pm.

Sunday, October 7, 1973: Main Lounge, Iowa Memorial Union, University of Iowa campus, 125 North Madison Street, Iowa City, Johnson County, Iowa An audience tape recording of this show exist. Also on the bill: Natural Act. The show, from 6:30pm to 10:30pm, was sponsored by the Commission for University Entertainment (CUE). ​

Friday, October 19 - Saturday, October 20, 1973: The Matrix, 412 Broadway, North Beach, San Francisco, California (Sons Of Champlin canceled)The Sons Of Champlin canceled at last minute because they were already booked to perform at another place that weekend, and were replaced by The Wailers (Bob Marley's band). Also on the bill: Steve Head, David Rea with Slewfoot, Stuart Little Band. ​

​Friday, November 23, 1973: 'A Thanks Giving Music Feast', Marin Veteran's Memorial Auditorium, Marin County Civic Center, 3501 Civic Center Drive, San Rafael, Marin County, California Also on the bill: Mark Naftalin, The Doug Sahm Band, plus Guest M.C.'s. The show, which started at 8:00pm, was sponsored by KTIM-FM Presents.

​Friday, November 30 - Saturday, December 1, 1973: Winterland, 2000 Post Street at Steiner Street, San Francisco, CaliforniaThe Sons Of Champlin's entire set from the Saturday show was filmed (see below), and also recorded and you can listen and/or donwload it through Concert Vault's website here. Also on the bill: Quicksilver Messenger Service, Copperhead, Shadowfax. These shows, which started at 8:00pm each day, were promoted by Bill Graham Presents.

Sunday, December 9, 1973: H-Quad Cafeteria, S.U.N.Y. (State University of New York) campus, Stony Brook, Long Island, New YorkOne show, started at 9:00pm.

December ??, 1973: S.U.N.Y. (State University of New York), 4400 Vestal Parkway East, Binghamton, Broome County, New York

Friday, December 28 - Saturday, December 29, 1973: Winterland, 2000 Post Street at Steiner Street, San Francisco, CaliforniaAlso on the bill: Montrose, Joe Walsh & Barnstorm. These shows, which started at 8:00pm each day, were promoted by Bill Graham Presents.

Friday, January 11 - Saturday, January 12, 1974: Keystone, 2119 University Avenue, Berkeley, Alameda County, CaliforniaOne show each day, started at 9:00pm.

Friday, January 18 - Saturday, January 19, 1974: The Inn Of The Beginning, 8201 Old Redwood Highway, downtown Cotati, Sonoma County, CaliforniaThe Sons Of Champlin filled in for the advertised Dolly & The Lama Mountain Boys. Also on the bill: Mitch Wood & His Red Hot Mama (18), Bourbon Street Irregulars (19). An audience tape recording of the Saturday show exist.

Friday, January 25, 1974: Warner Grand Theatre, 478 West 6th Street, San Pedro, CaliforniaAlso on the bill: The Section, Ambrosia. One show, started at 8:00pm.

Los Angeles Free Press (January 11, 1974)

Friday, ​January 25, 1974: 'The Moveable Festival Cafe', The Village, 901 Columbus Avenue off Lombard Street, San Francisco, CaliforniaCraftsmen and Street Artists are invited to exhibit and sell wares in The Moveable Festival Cafe under The Village during Azteca, Sons Of Champlin, Stoneground, and Steelwind concerts, which begin at 9:00pm.

Monday, July 22, 1974: The Inn Of The Beginning, 8201 Old Redwood Highway, downtown Cotati, Sonoma County, California (cancelled?)The Sons Of Champlin were advertised on the Berkeley Barb (July 19), although on the venue monthly calendar Clouds and Jam Session were billed instead.

Monday, July 22, 1974: MacArthur’s Spirits, San Anselmo, Marin County, CaliforniaThe band was advertised as 'Yogi Phlegm' (aka the four-man core of The Sons Of Champlin without the horn section).

Wednesday, July 24, 1974: Great American Music Hall, 859 O'Farrell Street, San Francisco, California

Daily Independent Journal (July 19, 1974)

Friday, July 26, 1974: Girls' Gymnasium, Novato High School, 625 Arthur Street, Novato, Marin County, CaliforniaAlso on the bill: Jeff Ray Band. The show, which started at 8:00pm, was sponsored by the Novato Parks and Recreation Department.

Monday, July 29, 1974: The Woods, Fairfax, Marin County, CaliforniaThe band was advertised as 'Yogi Phlegm' (aka the four-man core of The Sons Of Champlin without the horn section).

Tuesday, July 30, 1974: 'Live From The Plant', KSAN Radio Show, The Record Plant (recording studio), 2200 Bridgeway, Sausalito, Marin County, CaliforniaA one-hour live radio show hosted by KSAN general manager Tom 'Big Daddy' Donanue from 11:00pm to 12 midnight, and broadcasted in its entirety on KSAN 95 FM.

​Monday, August 19, 1974: MacArthur’s Spirits, San Anselmo, Marin County, CaliforniaThe band was advertised as 'Little Willie and The Night Worms' (aka the four-man core of The Sons Of Champlin without the horn section).

Friday, September 6, 1974: 'Concert Fun', S.J.S.U. Student Union Ballroom, on the upper level of the Diaz Compean Student Union, San Jose State University campus, 1 Washington Square, San Jose, Santa Clara County, CaliforniaThe band was billed as The Son's [sic]. Also on the bill: Moby Grape, C.D.H. Jr. One show, started at 8:30pm. ​​

Tuesday, September 10 and Thursday, September 12, ​1974: Sleeping Lady Cafe, 23 Broadway, Fairfax, Marin County, CaliforniaThe band was advertised as 'Little Willie and The Night Worms' (aka the four-man core of The Sons Of Champlin without the horn section).

Friday, September 13, 1974: New Varsity Theatre, 456 University Avenue, Palo Alto, Santa Clara County, CaliforniaAlso on the bill: Timbercreek. Two shows a day, 6:30pm and 10:00pm.

Saturday, September 14, 1974: Gymnasium, College Of Marin, 835 College Avenue, Kentfield, Marin County, California​Sunday, September 22, 1974: The Orphanage, 807 Montgomery Street, San Francisco, CaliforniaThe band was advertised as 'Little Willie and The Night Worms' (aka the four-man core of The Sons Of Champlin without the horn section). Also on the bill: Soundhole.

​Saturday, September 28, 1974: Keystone, 2119 University Avenue, Berkeley, Alameda County, California Also on the bill: Frisco Kids. One show, started at 9:00pm.

Monday, October 28, 1974: The Woods, Fairfax, Marin County, CaliforniaThe band was advertised as 'Little Willie and The Night Worms' (aka the four-man core of The Sons Of Champlin without the horn section).

Tuesday, November 5, 1974: The Inn Of The Beginning, 8201 Old Redwood Highway, downtown Cotati, Sonoma County, California

Friday, November 8 - Saturday, November 9, 1974: Winterland, 2000 Post Street at Steiner Street, San Francisco, CaliforniaThe Sons Of Champlin's entire set from the Saturday show was filmed (see below), and also recorded and you can listen and/or download it through Concert Vault's website here. Also on the bill: Gregg Allman, Cowboy. These shows were promoted by Bill Graham Presents.

Wednesday, November 13, 1974: Lion's Share, 60 Red Hill Avenue, San Anselmo, Marin County, CaliforniaThe band was advertised as 'Little Willie and The Night Worms' (aka the four-man core of The Sons Of Champlin without the horn section). One show, started at 7:45pm.

Friday, November 15, 1974: Keystone, 2119 University Avenue, Berkeley, Alameda County, California Also on the bill: Jimmy Vincent.

Friday, November 22, 1974: Keystone, 2119 University Avenue, Berkeley, Alameda County, California Also on the bill: Paul Rena.

Saturday, December 14, 1974: Winterland, 2000 Post Street at Steiner Street, San Francisco, CaliforniaAlso on the bill: Richard 'Dickie' Betts, James Montgomery Band. The show was promoted by Bill Graham Presents. ​

Berkeley Barb (December 20, 1074)

Friday, December 20 - Saturday, December 21, 1974: Keystone, 2119 University Avenue, Berkeley, Alameda County, California Also on the bill: Earthquake.

Tuesday, December 31, 1974: Winterland, 2000 Post Street at Steiner Street, San Francisco, CaliforniaThe Sons Of Champlin's entire set was recorded and you can listen and/or download it through Concert Vault's website here. Also on the bill: Tower Of Power, Booker T., Nite Shift. This show was promoted by Bill Graham Presents.

Friday, January 31 - Sunday, February 2, 1975: Keystone, 2119 University Avenue, Berkeley, Alameda County, California On January 31 The Sons of Champlin filled in for the early advertised (on the venue monthly calendar) Booker T. Also on the bill: Howard Wales. One show each night, started at 9:00pm.

Sunday, May 11, 1975: 'Benefit', Lion's Share, 60 Red Hill Avenue, San Anselmo, Marin County, CaliforniaThe band was advertised as 'Little Willie and The Night Worms' (aka the four-man core of The Sons Of Champlin without the horn section). ​Also on the bill: Clover.

Tuesday, June 3, 1975: Corinthian Yacht Club, 43 Main Street, Tiburon, Marin County, CaliforniaBill Champlin as solo act played at a benefit party for the Medical Contact Service, sponsor of three free clinics in Marin County. One show, from 8:00pm to 1:00am. Also on the bill: Soundhole, Nick Gravenites, Mark Naftalin.

Saturday, June 7, 1975: Family Light School of Music, Sausalito, Marin County, CaliforniaBill Champlin played here as solo act.

Saturday, June 28, 1975: Keystone, 2119 University Avenue, Berkeley, Alameda County, CaliforniaAlso on the bill: Alexis.

Sunday, July 13, 1975: Marin County Fairgrounds, 10 Ave of the Flags, San Rafael, Marin County, CaliforniaA soundboard tape recording of this show exist (although it was misdated as July 12). Also on the bill: Cal Tjader Quintet, Looking for Your Long Lost Mind Gospel Revue (Bill Champlin was a member of that band too). One show, started at 3:00pm.

Sunday, August 3, 1975: Open Air Theatre, 5500 Campanile Drive, San Diego State University campus, San Diego, California Also on the bill: The Tubes, David LaFlamme Band. Friday, August 8 - Saturday, August 9, 1975: Keystone, 2119 University Avenue, Berkeley, Alameda County, California Also on the bill: Hoo Doo Rhythm Devils.

Saturday, August 16, 1975: Gymnasium, College Of Marin, 835 College Avenue, Kentfield, Marin County, CaliforniaA back-to-school dance which started at 8:30pm and which was sponsored by the Associated Students of the College of Marin. Also on the bill: Kent Houseman Band.

​Sunday, August 17, 1975: Groucho's, San Mateo, CaliforniaAlso on the bill: Gropus Cackus.

Friday, August 22, 1975: California State Fair, 1600 Exposition Boulevard, Sacramento, CaliforniaThe show was broadcasted live on KZAP, a local radio station who also sponsored the event. KZAP deejay Robin Wiliams was the emcee.

Thursday, September 4, 1975: The Inn Of The Beginning, 8201 Old Redwood Highway, downtown Cotati, Sonoma County, CaliforniaAlso on the bill: Sky River.

Saturday, September 6, 1975: Seahawk Stadium, Cabrillo College, 6500 Soquel Drive, Aptos, Santa Cruz County, CaliforniaAlso on the bill: Hot Tuna. The show, which started at 12 noon, was promoted by Cabrillo College Associated Students in association with Yea Productions presents.

Sunday, September 21, 1975: Neff Field, Simpson College campus, 701 N C Street, Indianola, Warren County, IowaAn audience tape recording of this show exist. The show, which started at 1:00pm, was promoted by Simpson College Activities Board presents. ​

The Daily Iowan (September 17, 1975)

​Friday, October 3 - Saturday, October 4, 1975: Winterland, 2000 Post Street at Steiner Street, San Francisco, CaliforniaThe Sons Of Champlin's entire set from the Saturday show was filmed (see below), and also recorded and you can listen and/or download it through Concert Vault's website here. Also on the bill: Keith & Donna (3-4), Kingfish (3), New Riders Of The Purple Sage (4). These shows, which started at 8:00pm each night, were promoted by Bill Graham Presents.

Sunday, October 5, 1975: 'Autumn Music Festival - A Benefit For Sonoma State Alumni Association', Football Field, Sonoma State College, 1801 East Cotati Avenue, Rohnert Park, Sonoma County, CaliforniaAlso on the bill: Journey, Pablo Cruise, Automatic Man, Yesterday And Today. The show, from 11:00am to 6:00pm, was promoted by Alumni Association KTIM AM & FM And K And J Present. ​

​Friday, November 28, 1975: 'Thanksgiving Show', Marin Veteran's Memorial Auditorium, Marin County Civic Center, 3501 Civic Center Drive, San Rafael, Marin County, California A soundboard tape recording of this show exist, and a bootleg was later released titled: 'Live San Rafael, CA 1975'. Also on the bill: Pablo Cruise. The show, which started at 8:00pm, was promoted by Bill Graham Presents.

​Saturday, December 13 - Sunday, December 14, 1975: Another Bird, 140 South Sierra Avenue, Solana Beach, San Diego County, CaliforniaTwo shows a day, 9:00pm and 11:00pm on Saturday, and 8:00pm and 10:00pm on Sunday.

May 1976The Sons Of Champlin's seventh album, 'A Circle Filled With Love', was released in the US.

Tuesday, May 4 - Wednesday, May 5, 1976: My Father's Place, 19 Bryant Avenue, Roslyn, Nassau County, New York (The Sons Of Champlin cancelled)The Sons Of Champlin cancelled and were replaced by The Country Joe McDonald Band.

Monday, June 28, 1976: '9th Annual The Schaefer Music Festival in Central Park', Wollman Memorial Skating Rink, 5th Avenue and 59th Street, South Central Park, Manhattan, New York City, New YorkA soundboard tape recording of this show exist. Also on the bill: Flight, Shakti Featuring john McLaughlin. One show, started at 6:30pm. Club owner and musician Hilly Kristal co-founded the festival with producer and concert promoter Ron Delsener. The festival was sponsored by Schaefer Beer.

Bill Champlin, Schaefer Music Festival, June 28, 1976

The Sons Of Champlin #17, Schaefer Music Festival, Central Park, New York City, June 28, 1976

Friday, December 10 - Saturday, December 11, 1976: Keystone, 2119 University Avenue, Berkeley, Alameda County, California Also on the bill: Rubicon.

Friday, December 17, 1976: San Jose Civic Auditorium, 135 West San Carlos Street, San Jose, Santa Clara County, California

​Friday, December 31, 1976: 'New Years Eve 1976', Cow Palace, 2600 Geneva Avenue, Daly City, San Mateo County, California (Sons Of Champlin canceled)Also on the bill: The Grateful Dead, Santana, Soundhole (filled in for the Sons). This show, which started at 7:00pm, was promoted by Bill Graham Presents. "The Sons did not make the show." eyewitness Gregg Catanese recalls, "Some story about them being snowed in somewhere. Years later Bill Champlin told me that because of that no-show, they never played for Bill Graham again".

Wednesday, February 16 - Saturday, February 19, 1977: The Roxy Theatre, 9009 West Sunset Boulevard, West Hollywood, Los Angeles County, CaliforniaAlso on the bill: The Gap Band. A soundboard tape recording of the Saturday show survive.

​Sunday, February 20, 1977: Longshoremen's Hall, 400 North Point, Fisherman's Wharf, San Francisco, CaliforniaAlso on the bill: The Original Haze, Stoneground. Thursday, February 24, 1977: The Inn Of The Beginning, 8201 Old Redwood Highway, downtown Cotati, Sonoma County, CaliforniaAlso on the bill: Brother Music. ​Saturday, March 12, 1977: Keystone, 2119 University Avenue, Berkeley, Alameda County, California The Sons Of Champlin were originally advertised to play at the Keystone in Palo Alto, but at last minute they played at that other Keystone in Berkeley exactly.

Tuesday, June 7, 1977: Paramount Theatre, 1037 Southwest Broadway, Portland, Multnomah County, OregonAlso on the bill: Morning After. The show, which started at 8:00pm, was promoted by Allen-Johnston Concerts Presents. ​

Thursday, June 9, 1977: The Aquarius Tavern, 17001 Aurora Avenue North, Shoreline, King County, WashingtonAn audience tape recording of this show exist.

Saturday, June 18, 1977: Kiel Auditorium, 1401 Clark Avenue, St. Louis, MissouriSunday, June 19, 1977: 'Welcome To The Dance', Cain's Ballroom, 423 North Main Street, Tulsa, Oklahoma (cancelled)The show was A Peking Production. The Sons Of Champlin cancelled at last minute for reasons unknown and were replaced by Asleep At The Wheel. ​

Friday, August 5, 1977: 'The Midnight Special', NBC-TV Show, NBC Studios, 3000 West Alameda Avenue, Burbank, Los Angeles County, California (broadcast date)The Sons Of Champlin performed: 'Saved By the Grace of Your Love' and 'Hold On'. Also appeared: The Spinners, Andy Gibb, Johnny Rivers, Rod Stewart, Blood, Sweat and Tears. ​Saturday, August 6, 1977: Kirkwood Mountain Resort, 1501 Kirkwood Meadows Drive, Kirkwood, CaliforniaA soundboard tape recording of this show exist. Supposedly Sons Of Champlin's last gig before breaking up again. Rob Moitoza and Geoff Palmer went to play with Dave Guard and the Expanding Band, while Bill Champlin moved to Los Angeles where he began extensive studio session work (he will play with Chicago in the 1980s, before reforming the Sons Of Champlin in the 1990s). ​

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